A New Start
by msk1701
Summary: A tragic accident gets things going down a different path. AU from around the beginning of Lay Down Your Burdens and Razor never happened.
1. Chapter 1

"How's it looking, Kaplan?" Commander Lee Adama craned his neck to see what the Petty Officer in charge of the repair team was looking at. They were standing in a long stretch of dark corridor, lit only by the dancing light of flashlights. Although he normally wouldn't be personally inspecting a power outage, this one had occurred in a section of the Pegasus that had been giving them trouble for some time.

"Not good, sir."

"How do you mean?" Lee squinted at…something…Kaplan was pointing to in the dim light.

The Petty Officer shined her flashlight at a bundle of wires. Lee could clearly see the copper core of several wires from where the insulation was missing.

"Looks as if somebody's been slacking off in doing their maintenance work, sir. The claddings on these are completely worn through. This is probably why we've been getting so many faulty readings from the engines."

"And how did the electrical failure happen?"

"Well, you see how the copper wires are actually touching, sir?" Kaplan jiggled the light of her flashlight at the wires once again.

"Yeah…"

"It looks as if the currents actually managed to jump onto just one or two of the wires and completely overloaded the circuit breaker. Normally, we'd just restart the system, but this time, we'll have to replace the wiring first."

Lee nodded in the darkness. The movement of his chin cast strange shadows against the bulkhead.

A voice deeper in the darkness suddenly called out: "Hey does anybody smell that?"

Kaplan was the first to realize what the smell was. "Tylium fumes," she whispered.

Lee immediately snapped into action. "Alright everybody!" he calmly announced. "It looks as if we have a fuel leak back here. I want everyone to _walk_ out of here in an orderly fashion. No panicking. First one out of the section calls the Chief Engineer and tells him to shut off the engines and close all fuel lines. Got it?"

A chorus of "yessir"-s answered him.

"Kaplan, get up there and tick off people as they exit."

"Yessir," Kaplan said crisply and took off at a brisk jog.

Lee pressed his back against the bulkhead and watched as the shadowy figures of his crew made their way out of the section in an orderly fashion.

Then a voice suddenly yelped "Frak!" The light at the very back of the line of people moving past him fell to the deck and the bulb of the flashlight smashed open, exposing the red hot filament to the air and the fumes wafting in it.

It was surreal. Lee could see the tylium fumes ignite in slow motion. The flames bloomed out like a bright orange flower. Dark silhouettes were highlighted briefly before being consumed by the explosion.

All he could do was watch on as horror gripped his heart. He desperately wished that this was all a bad dream.

And then it hit him, a solid wall of superheated air, sending him flying backwards.

* * *

"_Galactica. Pegasus. We've had an explosion in our port stern near the engine room."_

"_Copy that, Pegasus. Keep us apprised of the situation."_

* * *

He had been far enough away from the explosion so that the concussion threw him against a bulkhead so that it hurt but didn't knock him out.

But how did it hurt. It felt as if his head was expanding and contracting with throbbing pain. The rhythm constantly sped up and slowed down as he struggled to stand, using only one arm to support his weight as he tried get his bearings. He was sure his other shoulder was dislocated, and the deep, grinding pain that he felt every time his useless arm swayed as he moved could only mean that his clavicle was broken as well.

The once dark corridor was now lit in fiercely flickering orange. He desperately prayed that the first crewmember out had managed to pass the word to the Chief Engineer and that the fuel lines had been closed.

He struggled to stay on his feet The heat and the fumes burned his lungs with every breath he took, almost but not quite masking the pain of his broken ribs.

He stumbled as he tried to walk. He needed to get away. Move away from the heat.

There was something off about each step he took. It felt as if his feet were…sticking to the deck. He looked down and saw a trail of black footprints following him. His boot soles were actually beginning to melt.

There were bodies around him. He couldn't tell if anyone was still alive, but he was sure that he was the only person still on his feet.

Trying to make his way out of the section would be pointless. The hatches would be locked and sealed by now in preparation for emergency venting.

There was a walk-in storage locker nearby. It would contain emergency oxygen masks, placed throughout the ship for situations such as this. Although the hatch wasn't airtight, it would serve as some measure of shelter when the atmosphere was vented.

If he could get to it.

He turned to walk back towards the heat when something tapped against his boot. He looked down to see that a crewmember lying on the deck was at least semi-conscious. Without thinking, he grabbed the man by his collar and began dragging him along.

* * *

"_Galactica. Kat. Pegasus just shut off all of her engines, but her RCS thrusters are still firing. She's coasting."_

"_Pegasus to all vessels: stay clear. I say again. Pegasus to all vessels: stay clear. We cannot stop our forward momentum."_

"_Pegasus. Galactica Actual wishes to speak with Pegasus Actual."_

"_Stand by, Galactica. We're trying to locate the Commander now."_

* * *

Step.

Drag.

Pause.

Step.

Drag.

Pause.

His feet grew hotter and hotter as his rubber boot soles melted away against the hot metal of the deck. Any moment now, his feet would break through the increasingly thin barrier, his socks would quickly burn off, and his feet would begin cooking.

Each movement that jostled his injured shoulder was excruciating, but he kept up his steady pace.

Step.

Drag.

Pause.

The storage locker was so close. He could make it there in a matter of seconds if he wanted to make a run for it. But there was no way he was going to leave behind the crewmember he was pulling along. Not while he could still feel the enlisted man's hands weakly grasping his wrist.

Step.

Drag.

Pause.

He lengthened his stride, groaning at the additional strain it put on his battered body.

He needed to get to that storage locker.

Another step. And another…

There!

He quickly through the hatch open and dragged the crewman along with him as fast as he could.

The relative coolness of the storage locker was a welcome relief from the raging inferno that was outside.

He secured the hatch as well as he could and began rummaging around for the breath masks by the shaking light of the flashlight.

* * *

"_Pegasus. Galactica Actual again wishes to speak to Pegasus Actual."_

"_Would you shut the frak up for a minute Galactica? We're kind of busy over here! Standby for emergency vent!"_

* * *

He had put a mask over his face and start the airflow when his legs finally failed him.

The last thing he saw was the hatch handle quickly looming large as he fell towards it.

Then everything went mercifully black.

* * *

"_Galactica. Pegasus."_

"_This is Galactica Actual. Go ahead Pegasus."_

"_It looks as if…"_

"_As if what? Pegasus?"_

"_I don't know how to say this Admiral…"_

"_What is it?"_

"_It looks as if the Commander was in the affected section when we vented it."_


	2. Chapter 2

Pegasus' hangar bay was abuzz with its usual activity. Pilots and deckhands scurried around carrying out their duties.

On one side of the hangar was an assembled group of Raptors, where Captain Kara Thrace's team of pilots and marines was taking care of final mission prep for their trip back to the colonies. The entire group was buzzing with excitement at the chance to go back to their home worlds and finding survivors.

But Kara, the one who had lobbied so hard for the mission, was quiet.

Klaxons suddenly began to blare and the entire hangar bay instinctively began to go to action stations, when a completely different announcement came over the intercom: "_Explosion in the port stern. Explosion in the port stern. Firefighting teams report to aft staging area. Sickbay, standby to receive casualties_."

All action stopped for the briefest of moments before the hangar bay quickly emptied as deckhands with firefighting training dropped what they were doing and ran out to make the mad dash to where they were needed.

All activity died down as the last firefighter left. The remaining deckhands began storing away tools and parking planes into their designated spots. Kara's team began stripping off their body armor or unzipping their flight suits and finding places to sit and be comfortable. None of them knew just how bad the situation was. They only knew that they would have to wait until the situation was declared to be all clear.

"_Commander Adama to CIC. Pass the word to Commander Adama: you are needed in CIC_."

Kara took the time to find a corner where she could be alone with her thoughts.

She let her mind drift back to when she and Lee said goodbye to each other. The tension in his quarters had been thick and suffocating. There was a look in his eyes that seemed to beg her to stay with him. It had taken all of her willpower to walk out without turning back, running to him, and not ever leaving his quarters.

But he was with Dee. And she was…she was hung up on Sam. She had given him her dog tag and promised to come back for him.

But what did that mean? She knew nothing about him and he knew nothing about her.

They'd hooked up once. But she'd had meaningless hook ups before. Why was Sam running laps around her head then?

And what was Lee doing there as well?

"_Commander Adama to CIC. Pass the word to Commander Adama: you are needed in CIC_."

That was the second time they paged Lee and that puzzled her. Lee wouldn't stay away from CIC in an emergency like this one.

Then fragments of conversations they'd had popped into her head.

Constant faulty readings from engineering…

Power fluctuations throughout the stern…

Chronic problems like that one usually ended up with the Commander making a personal inspection and chewing out those responsible.

Personal inspection…

Kara was off like a flash. Body armor, gloves, weapons, elbow pads, knee pads, and anything else that could potentially slow her down were strewn haphazardly in her wake.

"Starbuck! Where are you going?"

She pretended she didn't hear Helo calling after her.

* * *

Kaplan was on the phone speaking with CIC, providing a first hand account of the current situation, when she saw the infamous Starbuck shoving her way through the crowd of crewmen. She remembered complaining to the Commander once about Starbuck's behavior and what he told her about that particular subject: "You can either grin and bear it or stand up to her and feel her wrath. Just know that if you're the one who's right, I'll make sure she faces the consequences. If she's right, whatever she does to you is more than enough punishment."

The Petty Officer decided that this was one of the moments where she'd have to stand up to Starbuck. The bond between the Captain and Commander was well known and from the look in the woman's eyes, she was more than willing to open the hatch and step into the blazing inferno beyond, potentially putting the entire ship at risk.

But this time the Commander wasn't around to handle the aftermath.

"Stop her!" Kaplan ordered loudly, pointing at Starbuck's general direction.

As tough as she was, Kara was no match for the burly specialist in turnout gear who immediately grabbed her. But that didn't stop her from yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Where's Lee? Where is he?"

No one would look at her directly or answer her question. The feeling of dread that had been sneaking up on her during her record-breaking run through the ship finally seized her heart.

"Is he in there? Open the hatch! Get him out of there!"

No one would look at her or tried to silence her. Her yells were just vocalizing all of their feelings towards the five people behind that hatch.

Klaxons began blaring once again and a voice came over the intercom: "_Venting_."

Kara only began yelling even louder, refusing to stop fighting until the bitter end, and the specialist holding her back had to lift her off the deck to keep her from breaking out of his grip. She and Lee had been to hell and back together, and she wasn't going to let him go anywhere without her at his side.

"You! You're Kaplan, right?" She affixed the Petty Officer with the hardest glare she could muster. "Is that CIC on the horn? Tell the frakers to stop venting right the frak now!"

But her protests were quickly drowned out by the roar of air rushing out into space. Things quickly grew silent as the section beyond the hatch everyone was focusing on became a complete vacuum.

"_Venting complete_."

As the ramifications of that last announcement hit her hard, Kara could only stare at the bulkhead in front of her, as the more religious of the assembled crew began to quietly pray for the souls of the dead..

* * *

"_Pegasus. I see two bodies. Beginning recovery operation_."

* * *

"_Section is now re-pressurizing_."

Those gathered were quiet as they heard the tell-tale whoosh of breathable atmosphere being pumped back in.

"_Re-pressurization complete. All sensors are showing green_."

* * *

All eyes in Galactica's CIC were focused on the Admiral as he leaned heavily against the chart table, head bowed, as he once did right after the worlds ended. But this time Bill Adama did not shrug off the hands of Colonel Tigh, nor did he tell the crew to resume their duties.

He said nothing as he trembled with emotion.

Tigh tried to gently lead the Admiral out of CIC, but found that his old friend was rooted to his spot.

The Colonel shot a look at the crew and work resumed, although their voices didn't rise above whispers.

* * *

"_Pegasus. We have the bodies on board. They are Petty Officer Third Class Wood and Specialist Dixon_."

* * *

"Understood, sir," Kaplan spoke into the phone.

She turned to the firefighting team that was preparing to open the hatch to the now-pressurized section and announced, "The XO says that there are three bodies unaccounted for: Crewmans Lewis, Jacobson, and…" She hazarded a glance at a certain blond captain who was now blankly staring straight ahead while clutching a wincing specialist's arm in a death grip.

"…and Commander Adama."

The already somber mood of the gathered grew even dourer and Kara, even when she was lost in her deepest darkest thoughts, could see the amount of respect and loyalty Lee commanded from the crew. None of them wanted to be the one to discover the body of the man who had taken a broken crew suffering from tyranny, corruption, and incompetence, and turned them into a group that would have been the envy of the Colonial fleet.

But the team turned on their flashlights and headed down that long dark corridor to make sure that there was nothing in there that could cause another explosion and to recover the bodes of their fallen comrades. Those staying behind just watched as the white circles of light grew smaller.

The handheld wirelesses that some people carried crackled with reports from the team inside the burned out section: "_I've got a body here. Burned real bad. Dog tags say: Jacobson. Bringing him out._"

Kaplan relayed the information to CIC. "We found Crewman Jacobson's body sir. They're bringing him out now…They're still looking sir…No, sir…Tylium doesn't burn hot enough for that, sir."

The corridor became quiet as two firefighters came out carrying a body bag, the sound of softly muttered prayers becoming unusually deafening in the silence.

The bright circles in the darkness began moving again as the firefighters moved deeper into the burned out corridor.

"_I think there's someone in the storage locker_," the handheld crackled.

Loud metallic banging could be heard echoing down through the still dark corridor and the previously dancing lights were now focused on one point.

"_Something's blocking the hatch. We're going to have to saw through it_."

A distant grinding noise could be heard as the firefighters began to cut through the hatch of the storage locker. Sparks flew as metal bit into metal. The saw made quick work of the flimsy, non-air-tight hatch and all was soon quiet once again.

The handheld wireless came back to life. The firefighter speaking into it was yelling so loudly that his voice could be heard down the darkness everyone was focused on: "_We need a med team back here! NOW!_"

Everybody held their breaths as the medics among them broke away from the crowd and ran into the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Footsteps echoed through the hallway as a single corpsman ran out and, without preamble, grabbed the phone out of Kaplan's hand. He spoke quickly and quietly enough so that not even Kaplan could hear what was being said.

All eyes immediately focused on the corpsman's uniform. His pants and boots were covered in soot. His sleeves were rolled up and there were dark red splotches on his hands and forearms that could only be blood.

The conversation went on for several minutes; the corpsman shot glances over his shoulder at the gathered crew several times before haphazardly tossing the phone back to Kaplan and running back to where he was needed.

"_All crew not otherwise engaged, return to your designated duty stations. All crew not otherwise engaged, return to your designated duty stations_."

The sudden blaring announcement snapped broke up the impromptu vigil. The crew's training kicked in and those that were needed elsewhere began walking away-knowing that they had to keep the ship running-but not without one last glance back at the dark passage where corpsmen were working furiously on one of their own and their commanding officer.

They were all wondering just how badly the two men inside injured.

* * *

"_Galactica. Pegasus. We have two survivors: Crewman Lewis and Commander Adama. I say again: we have two survivors: Crewman Lewis and Commander Adama_." 

Bill Adama finally looked up from the lit chart table, the look on his face completely unreadable and being more than enough to silence the quiet cheer that had been building up.

It was Colonel Tigh who took control of the situation. "Prep a Raptor," he said tersely before quietly whispering into his friend's ear.

* * *

Kara was barely aware that nearly everyone had left. The only other people standing with her were the three uninjured members of the original repair team and another fresh team. They were waiting for the corpsmen inside to bring out the injured so that they could go in and assess the damage. 

She was waiting and praying to see that Lee was alive.

"Make a hole! Make a hole!"

The shouting and pounding of feet were like distant echoes as crewmen bearing stretchers rushed past and into the burned out section

Her eyes registered the figure in a green work uniform being taken away on a stretcher and her mind made the connection with a name that was being thrown around: Crewman Lewis

"Coming out! Clear the way!"

Another group was coming out.

And as her eyes finally began to focus once again, she saw the figure strapped down to the stretcher in startling clarity.

Lee.

His body was battered.

His blue uniform was torn to shreds.

The wings on his chest were actually cracked.

The parts of his face that weren't covered by the bag valve mask being held over his mouth and nose were bloody and swollen.

Kara's body moved her automatically beside the stretcher; her hand automatically reached for Lee's.

The corpsman behind her slapped her away and angrily yelled at her. "His hands are burned!"

That snapped her out of her walking trance.

Trembling at the realization that she could have worsened Lee's injuries, Kara could only run along and continue to desperately pray that it only looked worse than it was.


	4. Chapter 4

Pegasus' sickbay staff was just a bunch of nameless faces to Kara. But that didn't really matter. Her eyes were focused on Lee's face as it popped in and out of view.

They had intubated him soon after he arrived, replacing the bag valve mask with a ventilator. The sight of Lee lying there with a tube down his windpipe just hit home again the fact that he was hurt beyond what she, no stranger to pain, had ever experienced.

The doctor on Pegasus was much younger than Galactica's Cottle and seemed to be everywhere at once. The orders he barked out came at Kara's ears in stereo.

From her left. "Kelly, remove his clothing."

"Yes, Doctor."

From her right. "Careful with his boots, Kelly. The rubber could have melted into his feet."

"Yes, Doctor."

She watched as the corpsman named Kelly snipped away at Lee's uniform with a pair of trauma shears. The sharp scissors easily cut into his tanks, jacket, and pants. The layers of fabric split open to reveal the ugly purple bruises on Lee's torso and arms, and the metal fragments embedded in his body.

The doctor walked around the table, assessing Lee's injuries: "Severe head trauma. Broken left clavicle, dislocated left shoulder, at least three broken ribs on his left side…possible hip fracture…that knee looks like it's a mess…minor shrapnel wounds all along his right side. Minor burns on his face and left hand. Second degree burn on the knife edge of his right hand…and his feet are…barely even singed. That's amazing. OK, let's get x-rays"

A corpsman wearing a lead bib helped the doctor into a similar garment. Screens that blocked Kara's view of Lee were set up to shield the rest of sickbay from radiation.

The x-ray machine hummed and then stopped.

"Get those developed ASAP."

"Yes, Doctor."

The screens were removed and Kara could see Lee once again.

There was a brief lull in activity, and she allowed herself to believe that Lee was out of immediate danger. She closed her eyes and was about to say a prayer when an urgent voice called out: "Doctor, I think his lung just collapsed."

The doctor was by Lee in a flash. "Frak! One of his ribs must have shifted and punctured the lung. Chest tube tray!"

Kara's eyes flew open in time to see the doctor grab a scalpel off of an instrument tray and bend down to Lee's chest to make an incision.

She whipped around and squeezed her eyes shut. She nervously gnawed at her thumbnail as the image of a scalpel cutting into Lee's flesh flashed through her head again and again.

She could hear a gurgling noise coming from behind her. She didn't know what was causing that noise, nor did she want to know. And as much as she tried to will her hands to clamp over her ears to drown it out, she was frozen in place.

A familiar voice calling her almost covered over the noise coming from Lee. Almost.

"Starbuck! The deckhands are saying that Apollo's been-Oh my gods."

Helo peered over Kara's head at the commotion behind her. Someone noticed him staring at quickly slid a curtain shut, blocking the action from view.

A chime rang out over the intercom.

"_Admiral of the Fleet. Arriving._"

Helo's head jerked up to the speaker in the ceiling. The noise of medical personnel working to save Apollo's life was loud enough. Once the elder Adama arrived, sickbay would become deafening.

He knew both Adamas well enough to know that someone would have to try and calm the Admiral down before he reached sickbay or else heads would start to roll.

With one last glance at his friend standing stock still in the middle of sickbay, Helo ran out to try and see if he could try and cushion the blow for a father about to see the broken body of his son.

* * *

The look on Adama's face was more than enough to part the sea of crewmen in Pegasus' corridors from the moment he stepped off the Raptor and onto the hangar deck.

No one dared to say a word in greeting, and the few who tried to nervously salute were ignored.

Adama turned a corner to see Helo jogging towards him.

"Admiral!"

The tall lieutenant quickly fell into step beside him.

"They took the commander to sickbay, Admiral. The doctor was working on him when I-"

He stopped abruptly and shot Helo a glare that shut the younger man up.

"Sickbay's right this way, sir," Helo stammered out, gesturing with his arm.

Adama continued walking, not caring if the lieutenant was following him or not, and turned one corner and another before arriving at the appropriate hatch. The small crowd that had formed there quickly scattered at the sight of him. He stormed into sickbay, but stopped abruptly once again.

There stood Kara, arms crossed across her chest with one hand pressed hard against her mouth. She was seemingly unaware of the tears streaming down her face or of anything going on around her. To see the stoic Starbuck cry like that…the possible full magnitude of Lee's injuries hit him like a battlestar traveling at full speed.

Adama continued inside slowly, his eyes focused on the curtain behind which Pegasus' medical personnel were working on his son.

His hand automatically went to his pocket and his fingers wrapped around the well worn lighter he carried around with him everywhere, clutching it as if it was a talisman.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: There are a couple of contrivances here and there. Point of clarification: I haven't seen Razor yet (don't know if I ever will), so it never happened in the context of this story.

* * *

Sickbay was almost empty. The less injured members of the repair had been quickly released soon after they had arrived. Helo had sat Kara down on one of the unoccupied beds before heading back to the hangar bay.

She hadn't moved since she was put there. Her eyes never strayed from a certain point on the floor, and her hands gripped the sheet in a death grip.

Adama sat by Crewman Lewis's bedside, talking to the young man, trying to figure out what had happened after the explosion.

The crewman's voice was raspy from smoke inhalation and he was wincing in pain from the burns he had all along his legs.

"I was out of it, sir. The heat and the fumes…I couldn't breathe…got lightheaded. I must have passed out. The next-" Lewis' narrative was interrupted by a coughing fit. He took a grateful sip of water from the cup Adama held for him.

"The next things I know-" Lewis took a deep, ragged breath. "I'm being dragged across the deck by someone-it might have been Commander Adama…" a breath, "he was wearing an officer's uniform-and then I passed out again…" another breath, "before I woke up here."

Adama nodded as Lewis spoke and sat by his bedside until the crewman drifted off to sleep.

Sickbay became silent then. Adama didn't move from where he sat, although he did steal occasional glances to the motionless Kara.

He lost track of time as he turned his father's lighter over and over again in his hands.

Finally, he heard footsteps on the deck

Pegasus' doctor, dressed in blood streaked scrubs walked towards him. Behind the doctor, other figures also dressed in scrubs wheeled Lee to the bed furthest from the hatch and drew a curtain shut.

Adama tried to make his way to his son, but the doctor blocked his path.

"Admiral."

"Let me through."

"Admiral…"

"That's my son!"

"Admiral," the doctor said more forcefully. "You're just going to be in the way. Let us move him onto a proper bed and set up all the equipment first. Then you can see him."

The man was decades younger than Cottle, yet he had already mastered the 'this is my domain' stare the older doctor also used, and the admiral couldn't help but back down.

The sound of shattering glass suddenly rang out, and the doctor was gone before Adama could react. The admiral was caught off guard and stood frozen as he listened to what was going on behind the curtain where his son was.

"That was our last-Frak! Clean that up before you contaminate sickbay!" the doctor popped out from behind the curtain, clearly angry. "Kelly! Go through our records and find a match for Commander Adama's blood type and have the marines drag in the first one you find."

"I'm a match."

A quiet voice caused Adama's and the doctor's heads to whip towards its source. Kara was finally looking up from the floor, her eyes red and puffy, and her face streaked with dried tears.

"Excuse me?"

Kara's voice picked up in volume and became steadier. "I'm a match."

The doctor moved towards her and asked, "Have you taken any medications or consumed any alcohol recently?"

Adama could have sworn that he saw Kara shrink back slightly at the doctor's question. But she just shook her head.

"OK. We're going to do a direct transfusion. Captain, just follow that corpsman over there. Kelly, keep on looking, we still need the blood, and you." The doctor angrily grabbed a corpsman who was exiting the curtained off section where Lee was. "Make sure you completely cleaned up the mess you made. I'll talk to you later."

The doctor made his way back to Adama.

"Sorry about that, Admiral. She's one of our civilian trainees and she's at the point where she thinks she can handle things but-"

"What about my son?"

The doctor took a quick glance around sickbay and decided that there were too many people around. He motioned for Adama to follow him to his small, cramped office. X-rays were quickly clipped onto the light board by the desk and flipped a switch. Adama's eyes widened at the broken bones and bright pieces of shrapnel that glared at him.

The doctor spoke softly: "Most of the shrapnel that hit your son was small and barely penetrated his flesh. But a couple of big pieces sliced him pretty badly." He tapped an x-ray of Lee's right arm, where a large jagged piece of metal could be clearly seen. "This piece here lodged itself in an artery. There was major bleeding when I pulled it out. I stopped it pretty quickly, but…his lung also collapsed and although the bleeding from that stopped on its own, we had to drain…" the doctor stopped for a moment to reconsider his words.

"Your son lost some major blood volume. That's why we were giving him a transfusion until the bottle broke."

"The rest of his injuries are relatively minor. He has a broken clavicle, broken ribs, a cracked pelvis, and a smashed knee. I set the bones, put his left shoulder back in its socket, and repaired the knee. I immobilized his left arm and left leg up to the waist with braces so that should he wake up, he won't accidentally aggravate his injuries. The burns are-"

Adama jerked his eyes away from the x-rays and back to the doctor. "Should he wake up? What do you mean 'should'?"

The doctor winced inwardly at his slip-up, but gave his superior the straight answer: "There is major trauma to his head, Admiral. From the looks of it, he smashed his head twice. Hard."

Adama began shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was becoming more and more agitated by the second.

"X-rays don't show any bleeding or swelling, but I have to be honest, Admiral, he's in a coma, and it could be years before he wakes up. If at all."

Minutes, maybe even hours, passed as the father took in the information about his son's prognosis.

"I have to be with my son." Adama turned to walk out of the doctor's office.

"Admiral…"

Adama turned around to see the doctor holding out his clenched fist, clearly holding something inside.

"We had to dispose of your son's uniform, but I did have the orderlies save these."

He placed four metallic objects in Adama's hands. The admiral's eyes welled up with tears when he saw what the doctor had given him: his son's commander insignias and senior officer wings-cracked in half.

* * *

Kara lay on a hospital bed next to Lee's. It was just the two of them behind a curtained off section in sickbay, connected by needles inserted into their arms; her blood flowing into him. 

She couldn't help but focus on his face, swathed in bandages and obscured by the ventilator. She tried hard to replace that sight with a memories of Lee's sleeping form-from all the times she woke up to find that Lee had collapsed onto his own bunk, too tired from being the CAG to even close the curtain.

She tried to remember the good times they'd had together. The few bright spots of her life since the end of the worlds always seemed to involve Lee one way or another. She always gave him a hard time about being too friendly with his pilots, but he really was her friend. Then something happened, and his feelings for her had grown to something beyond friendship. She couldn't deny that she felt a similar pull but…

Kara shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. This wasn't the time or place to be thinking of such things. She was here to give blood for a seriously injured a friend.

She was figting a losing battle within herself to make that the only thought that ran through her head when a nameless corpsman came in to remove the needle from her arm and helped her sit up.

"You're going to be lightheaded for a little while," he said. "And don't worry if you see some bruising on your arm. That's normal."

Kara tried standing up, but found herself unsteady on her feet. The room swayed around her, but she managed to sit down in the chair by Lee's bed without falling.

The nameless corpsman pressed a glass of water and a protein bar into her hands with an apologetic smile. "We'd normally give you juice, but we ran out last month. Eat that, it'll help." Then he left her alone.

Kara drained the glass of water, but couldn't muster up the appetite to even think about ripping open the protein bar's wrapper.

She reached over for his hand. The same hand that she tried to hold before being angrily slapped away. This time, she gently wrapped her own hand over Lee's bandaged one and watched his chest rise and fall to the hiss and click of the ventilator.

She looked at his face and prayed for his eyes to open.

So that he would see her sitting by his side.

So that she could crow and gloat, and tell him that the cosmic balance sheet had shifted in her favor, and that she owned him now.

So that she could see him smile and hear him thank her.

So that he would wrap his arms around her in a hug that would invariably affect her more than him.

So that she could get ready for bed and find the little something that Lee would put in her bunk after each time she saved his skin.

But as much as she wished for Lee's eyes to open, Kara could barely keep her own open. The exhaustion and nausea she had managed to avoid until now finally hit her full force.

She rested her head against Lee's forearm, and the next thing she knew was blackness.

* * *

AN: You see that little blue button at the bottom of your screen? Click it. I know you want to. 


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: The next few chapters will be short. Bear with me, the pacing just worked out that way._

* * *

Adama wanted to sit by Lee's bedside until his son woke up, but his duties soon called him back to Galactica. 

He briefly considered making Kara return with him, but upon seeing the way she sat unmoving at Lee's side, he decided against it.

She and his son shared a bond that he could not even begin to fathom, but one thing was for sure: theirs was a symbiotic relationship. They instinctively sought each other out in any situation and neither worked well alone as they did when they were together.

And he highly doubted that his pilot was in any sort of condition to carry out her duties with Lee in a coma.

So Adama left her there, hoping that having Kara by his side would somehow speed up Lee's recovery. And although he planned to call every moment he could to see if there was any change in Lee's status, Adama left behind his father's lighter.

Just in case.

* * *

Kara sat at Lee's side. 

The only thought running through her mind was: _Wake up. Wake up, you fraker. Wake up so I can kick your ass._

It was like that for two days.

She just sat there, drinking the water and mindlessly swallowing the food people brought her, and getting up only to use the small head adjoining sickbay.

On the third day, her duffel bag had been packed and sent over from Galactica. The doctor told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't going to be allowed to stay in his sickbay unless she washed and changed her clothes, so he practically shoved Kara out the hatch and towards officers' country the moment she had her shower kit and a fresh uniform in her hands.

* * *

Kara exited the officers' head after her shower, feeling guilty about feeling better. But she shook off that feeling and made her way back to Lee, half listening to the conversations of the excited crew and taking in the latest developments. 

A planet had been found.

One with a breathable atmosphere.

There was talk of the president considering permanent settlement.

Lee's voice was suddenly in her head, telling her that they would have to do comprehensive survey-study the plant and animal life, take soil and water samples, and learns about the weather patterns-before they could even begin to consider settling.

Kara smiled wanly to herself, marveling silently at how well she knew Lee, and wondering if Lee ever heard her voice in his head to provide a counterpoint to himself.

She turned a corner onto the main corridor that would take her to sickbay, and saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

There in front of her, in the corridors of the Battlestar Pegasus, stood Sam Anders, being escorted by Helo.

In the moment Sam's eyes met hers, Kara saw just how much Sam resembled Lee.

And she realized that she wasn't confused about her feelings anymore.

"Kara!" Sam yelled out happily. He quickly strode up to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"Karl told me that you couldn't go on the mission because there was an accident, and I thought that you were hurt." Sam's voice was muffled in her damp hair as she bent her arms at the elbows to awkwardly reciprocate the gesture.

Kara's mind worked furiously to try and find a way to tell Sam of her recent revelation, but when he leaned back to look at her, she could only give him a small, embarrassed smile.

Sam leaned in to try and kiss her, but she quickly jerked her face to the side and took it on her cheek.

"No," she said softly.

"Wha-?"

Kara stepped back and out of the embrace, a look of genuine apology on her face. She kept a hand firmly on Sam's chest to keep him from stepping closer.

"I'm sorry, Sam. But I can't do this." Her voice was steady, firm even, surprising her. "Not now. Not ever."

She stepped around him and past Helo to head back to sickbay.

Sam was confused and hurt. He thought that they had something back on Caprica and the thought of seeing Kara again was what got him through those longs months since she left.

Now he was off that wasted rock only to be brushed off with no explanation.

He moved to follow Kara, but Helo blocked his way with an arm.

"Don't, Sam," he said. "There are only two people who can control Starbuck, and neither of them are around to save you in case you set her off."

* * *

Kara walked back into sickbay and made her way straight to Lee's bedside. 

She took his hand and kissed the gap between Lee's eyebrows-one of the few parts of his face that wasn't covered.

"Wake up, Lee," she whispered. "I've got something to tell you. Then I'm going to kick your ass."

And she sat down and went back to waiting.

* * *

_AN: For those who think I've wrapped up the Sam factor too neatly, please note that he'll be coming back in the near future. You can kill me then._

_As always, that little blue button appreciates attention, so please give it a click._


	7. Chapter 7

AN: It's a bit episodic and takes place over a vague span of time. Plus I'm going to be fiddling around with the timeline (of course I am, this is AU). You have been warned.

* * *

Paperwork began to come in from Pegasus' air group-overflow from the CAG's office-and Kara soon settled into a routine. 

She would go for a run in the morning, shower, and grab a protein bar from the officers' mess to be eaten on the way back to sickbay.

Her paperwork for the day would already be waiting for her on the rolling table she had taken as her own. But before she began tackling that, she would help the corpsman of the day-usually a perpetually chipper young woman named Cullen-exercise Lee's uninjured limbs to help maintain muscle tone.

Her other meals were quickly swallowed in the mess as she went to and from the CAG's office to drop off her paperwork.

* * *

She noticed Dee standing at sickbay's entrance one day, barred from entering by the marines who now stood guard by the hatch twenty-four hours a day. Aside from the sickbay staff and the obviously injured, Kara was the only person who was allowed to come in and out as she pleased. 

Dee was arguing with the unmoving marines, but Kara couldn't make out what she was saying, so she went back to bending Lee's leg up to his chest as Corpsman Cullen coached her. The next time she looked up, the comms officer was gone.

* * *

Officially, Kara was still posted on Galactica, but everyone pretty much knew that she was no longer part of its air group. 

But neither was she part of Pegasus' air group.

Although she kept her things in a locker in the officers' head, she was just sort of there.

Not fully accepted as one of their own, but not considered to be an outsider either.

But she noticed that her uniforms began coming back from the ship's laundry with the gold Galactica patch on the shoulders replaced with the silver of Pegasus.

* * *

Sam was staying aboard Pegasus for some reason. He tried following Kara on her morning runs to talk to her, but she evaded him easily with her familiarity with Pegasus' labyrinthine corridors. And everyday, she altered her route in one way or another, just so she could avoid him. 

Kara turned a corner and pounded down one of the lesser used access corridors when she abruptly stopped in her tracks.

Sam was standing near where the corridor met one of Pegasus' main passages, leaning against the bulkhead, seemingly loitering. He turned his head towards the sounds of her footsteps. His eyes widened in surprise to see her in front of him, and he immediately stood up and faced her full-on, his body blocking her exit.

She briefly considered turning around and finding another way back, but decided against it. She might as well talk to him. She owed him that much.

"Hey, Sam," Kara said calmly as she walked up to him. She wiped away the beads of sweat that poured down her face and into her eyes.

"What's going on, Kara?" Sam didn't waste anytime, having now learned from experience that the woman in front of him could bolt and disappear anytime she wanted to.

Kara answered truthfully, "That accident Helo told you about…hurt the one person who means everything to me, and he's currently in sickbay in a coma."

"Were you two…?"

"No," she answered his unfinished question. "But we should have…long before I met you."

"So you have feelings for him?"

"Yes."

Sam hesitated a moment, and forced himself to ask next question needing to know the true answer, "Did you have feelings for me?"

"You don't want me to answer that."

Kara tried to step around him, but Sam blocked her with his arms and corralled her against the bulkhead.

"But what if I do?"

She looked him straight in the eye and said, "I thought I did."

Kara chose her next words carefully, to leave no room for doubt. "And it nearly killed me."

She tried stepping away again, but Sam's body blocked her way. His looming figure suddenly conjured up memories of Simon leaning over her after her capture on Caprica and the fear and confusion she felt as she lay on that hospital bed months ago.

"Move, Sam."

Kara's voice was just beginning to tremble. The normally cool interior of the battlestar suddenly became stifling as Kara fought to hold back the panic that began to well up inside her.

"Sam. Move."

But he didn't, still in shock at Kara's declaration.

She was beginning to hyperventilate and her heart was pounding in her chest. She could almost feel the pain radiating from the scars on her abdomen once again.

Barely aware of what she was doing, Kara brought her arms up and shoved Sam back, rocking him back on his heels so that he fell hard against the deck on his ass.

Her breathing immediately began to slow down to a more normal rate, but her heart continued its pounding beat inside her chest. She shivered as her body once again registered the coldness of the battlestar's interior hitting her sweat drenched skin.

Sam stared at her. His shock masked the pain of hitting the cold metal deck.

Kara moved to walk away, but noticed the gleam of gold metal against Sam's chest. Her dog tag had fallen out of his shirt as he fell to the deck. She reached out at yanked it back, snapping the leather strap that held it around Sam's neck.

"Get off this ship, Sam. Find someplace where you can be helpful. Because a battlestar isn't the place for you."

And Kara walked off without another glance while all Sam could do was rub the stinging band of flesh across the back of his neck.

* * *

At night it was just her and Lee, and the sole corpsman who pulled the nightshift for the week. 

Kara softly read aloud to Lee at this time-feeling ridiculously self-conscious whenever she did-from the now-priceless books of Pegasus' library. The young clerk who fanatically protected its contents allowed her to check out books one at a time, one more than most people were allowed.

Sickbay's lights were dimmed at night, so she was reading with the help of a small lamp she had procured for this purpose.

A yawn stopped Kara from continuing on with the exploits of Caprica's ancient maritime explorers. It was getting late.

She turned off the lamp and made sure that the curtains were properly drawn closed around the two of them before lying down and falling asleep in the hospital bed next to Lee's.

* * *

AN: Sam and Dee will return soon. But while you're waiting, why don't you show that little blue button down there a bit of love? It's the season of giving, after all. 


	8. Chapter 8

AN: For the sake of full disclosure, I would just like to say I did NOT purposely time my updates like this. Funny how things worked out though.

* * *

Tonight, Kara was reading to Lee from a book about early spaceflight. 

She had already finished two books-both of them works of non-fiction. Although she was now more comfortable reading aloud to a comatose man, she drew the line at the voices she would have needed to have done if she chose to read fiction.

The words on the page before her began to blur as sleep caught up to her once again.

She blinked hard with a quick shake of her head to clear her vision and looked at Lee's form in front of her.

"Goodnight, Lee," she whispered softly before turning off her lamp and getting into bed.

The last idle thought that flashed through Kara's mind as she fell asleep her was if the first astronauts to venture out into space ever dreamed about going as far as the Colonials were now.

* * *

_She was in her apartment on Caprica._

_But, for some reason, it was clean-with everything put away-a feat she never knew was possible._

_She wandered around, getting reacquainted with the small space, stopping in front of a mandala of swirling colors she had painted on one wall years ago._

_Two arms snaked around her waist from behind and pulled her in close to a sturdy body. _

_She immediately knew who it was without needing to see._

_Of course her apartment was spotless. He was there._

_She leaned back into his body and let her head fall back onto his shoulder, deeply taking in his familiar scent as he laid a trail of kisses up the side of her face._

_She turned in his arms and tangled her fingers in his hair to pull him in for a proper kiss._

_Their lips never left the other's as their hands wandered, caressing, squeezing, and searching for buttons and zippers._

_They slowly sank down to the floor as they shrugged off the last of their clothing, his lips were on her neck as she softly sighed his name…_

* * *

Kara awoke with a gasp, simultaneously feeling embarrassed about dreaming of the unconscious man just a few feet away and wishing that she hadn't woken up. 

But those thoughts flew from her head as the sounds of rustling fabric filtered through her ears.

They weren't like any of the other noises she had become used to hearing

She was quickly by Lee's side to see iss head slightly rocking from side to side. Even in the dimmed lights, she could see that his eyes were moving furiously behind his eyelids.

Kara softly called his name, trying to see if he would react to the sound of her voice, "Lee?"

Nothing happened.

"North!" she called out to the corpsman on duty, her voice insistent.

Corpsman North drew open the curtain and took one look before heading towards the phone to call the doctor.

Kara could hear faint footsteps getting louder and louder within seconds.

* * *

_There were voices._

_He could hear voices._

_They were professional._

_Terse._

_Speaking in jargon that he couldn't understand._

_But he filtered through them and found one voice he was intimately familiar with._

_She was calling to him: "C'mon, Lee. Open your eyes. I know you can."_

_He followed that voice._

* * *

Kara was on the horn to Galactica, speaking with the Admiral about the change in Lee's condition. She was smiling, genuinely smiling, for the first time in what felt like an eternity. 

Finally, after more than two weeks of waiting, there was a change. And it was for the better.

The doctor had come in, examined of Lee and declared that he seemed to be slowly coming out of his coma.

"Yes, sir. The doctor said that it could take a while, but he's sure."

* * *

_He tried to take a breath but found that he couldn't._

_He tried again and again, but couldn't each time._

_Then his eyes opened._

* * *

Corpsman North jerked back in surprise when he saw his commanding officer's eyes pop open, but it was when the man began to twist and make muffled gagging noises that he yelped, "Whoa!" 

Kara beat the doctor to Lee's side by a fraction of a second, only to find herself roughly body checked to the side.

"Commander? Commander Adama. Can you hear me?" the doctor said in a loud voice as he struggled to keep Lee still long enough so that he could examine him.

"North, get over here and help me hold him down."

"Yes, doctor."

North moved to take the doctor's place at Lee's uninjured side while the doctor ran around the bed to stand across from the corpsman.

Kara stared at the scene unfolding in front of her. The feeling of dread she felt when she first heard about Lee's accident once again quickly balled up in the pit of her stomach.

The doctor quietly muttered to North, "He's biting down on the tube."

Then in a louder voice he said, "Alright, Commander. We're going to remove the tube so I'm going to need you to relax a bit. OK? Can you do that, Commander?"

She could see the pure panic and terror in Lee's eyes as he struggled against the two men holding him down. She bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she could taste blood when she heard the desperate noises he was making in response to the doctor's question.

North disconnected the ventilator from the tube in Lee's mouth and the doctor firmly grasped the end in his hand.

"Just relax, Commander. It's going to feel a bit weird. And. Here. We. Go!"

Lee could feel the tube being pulled out. Each moment it moved further and further out of his throat was pure agony as he gagged again and again…until it was finally pulled all the way out in an eruption of saliva and bile.

Instead of relief, all he felt was pain.

That first desperate breath of air once the tube in his throat had been removed sent stabbing pains throughout his chest as his broken ribs were suddenly shifted

On his next breath, he aspirated on his own saliva and bile, causing a coughing fit that jostled him so badly that he could feel pain emanating from each and every injury he had.

It was too much.

The tears that had begun welling up from the pain now freely flowed down his face.

Sobs racked his body, each one sending a new jolt of pain through him.

He didn't even notice the gentle hands cleaning off his face with a damp washcloth.

He finally became aware of the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, and the soothing touch on his forehead, gently moving to brush his hair back.

He slowly opened his eyes and found the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes staring right back at him.

"Hey, Lee," Kara whispered, blinking away happy tears.

* * *

AN: Yay! Lee's awake! Happy Holidays, everybody. 


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Yes, my faithful readers. Lee is awake. But where do we go from here? Hmmm…Read on.

AN2: I've retroactively corrected a little sticking point from a previous installment that some of you called me out on.

* * *

They stared at each other for the longest time.

Blue on hazel.

Hazel on blue.

Then Lee lifted his hand to try and remove the oxygen mask from his face, but Kara moved to stop him.

"No no. Don't take your mask off." She laid her hand gently atop of his.

Their eyes met again, and he let her take his hand off the mask and lay it back down at his side.

His throat muscles moved as he tried to speak.

"Shh. Don't talk."

But that didn't stop him. He tried anyway. In a voice so soft that Kara had to lean down and press her ear against the oxygen mask to hear what Lee was trying to say.

Lee croaked, "Crewman-"

"Lewis. You saved him. I think he's been back on duty for over a week now."

His eyes widened as the realization that he had been out for a long time hit him.

"How long?"

"Sixteen days."

"Did I miss-" Lee winced at the pain in his throat and couldn't finish his sentence, but she knew what he was trying to ask.

"Uhm…we found a new kind of skin job, but other than that, there hasn't been any contact with the Cylons…we discovered a new planet that can support human life…the fleet's in orbit above it right now."

"And you missed the election," she tilted her head to the side as a slight look of disgust passed over her features. "Baltar won."

Lee just blinked.

"Yeah…that's what I thought when I heard the results…I think they're in a transition phase right now. Baltar's supposed to be sworn in next week or something."

The corners of his eyes crinkled, telling her that he was smiling behind the mask.

Emotions bubbled up within her at the sight. She was about to say, '_Gods, I was so scared,_' when the curtain around them was suddenly drawn open and the doctor walked in to their little space. Behind him, sickbay was brightly lit and fully staffed. Shift change had occurred and neither of them had noticed.

"Good morning, Commander," the man said as he busily checked Lee's vitals. He didn't stop talking as he did. "And how are we doing? No. Don't talk just yet."

Notes were scratched onto Lee's chart.

"OK, let's get this mask off of you. But we're still going to keep you on oxygen for the time being, so I hope you don't mind wearing a nasal cannula for a while. Kelly will take care of that for you, Commander."

The corpsman swapped out the oxygen mask for a clear plastic tube that hooked behind Lee's ears with two prongs that fitted into his nostrils onto the humidifying unit plugged into the wall.

"Your throat's sore isn't it, Commander?" Kelly asked.

Kara shot the corpsman a look that was ignored. "If you're feeling up for it, Captain Thrace can help you try and drink some water."

Lee nodded and Kara turned away to get a cup of water for him.

It was only when Kara held the cup steady in front of him that he realized until that point, their hands hadn't stopped touching.

* * *

They had settled into a comfortable silence once they were left alone. Their eyes occasionally met, but they didn't really look at each other.

The curtain was drawn open once again to reveal the elder Adama, relief evident in the way his shoulders visibly relaxed at the sight of his son sitting up and fully conscious.

Lee's voice was still hoarse when he said, "Hey, Dad."

Kara looked between the two men and decided that she should leave. "I'll go…" she said softly, vacating her chair for the admiral to sit in.

Lee watched her leave as his father sat himself down beside him.

The two men were awkwardly silent around each other. Their relationship had never been one of open affection

Adama was the first to break the silence, "She's been here since the beginning, you know."

"Who?" Lee was puzzled.

"Kara. Helo actually led the mission to Caprica, because she wouldn't leave your side. The doctor's told me that she's been sleeping in the bed next to yours and taking some of the workload off of his staff in taking care of you. Hell, she even gave you her own blood when they ran out."

Lee was silent at this revelation, wondering what sort of standing his relationship with Kara was now in, while Adama once again tamped down at the irrational guilt that he still felt in not being a match for his own child. Both of his sons had inherited their mother's blood type and there was nothing he could do to change it.

Taking a deep breath, Adama straightened in his chair and held up a sizeable bundle of papers that he had brought up with him.

"I got the XO to organize these reports for you. Figured you'd want to get caught up on what you've missed, especially since you're one pilot short."

"Why's that? Kara told me that there hasn't been any action."

"Yeah, but I took your DCAG to take over as CAG on Galactica."

Although Lee was mildly annoyed at his father taking one of his crew instead of promoting one of Galactica's own, he understood the reasoning behind the decision. Galactica's existence in the Colonial fleet in the time running up to her decommissioning had mostly been ceremonial. To most of her crew, the posting had been either a swan song before retirement or a place to gain experience early on in their careers. And although her pilots were now all seasoned veterans, none of them had gone to War College like Lee or several of Pegasus' more senior pilots.

"I included the official orders in with the reports if you want to do what I think you want to do."

Adama placed the papers onto the table by Lee's bedside. "You can look through them later."

A beat passed between them.

"The president will be in tomorrow to present you with a medal for saving Crewman Lewis."

Lee groaned, "Dad…"

Adama cut him off, "I know the feeling. Shut up, grin, and bear it. It'll be over before you know it."

Lee snorted with laughter, a reaction that Adama soon regretted eliciting as his son quietly moaned at the pain it caused.

Adama stood to leave. "I've got to get back to Galactica."

"Alright, Dad."

But before the admiral left, he turned back and said, "And Lee…"

"Yeah?"

"Scare me again like this, and I'll kill you myself."

Lee just smiled.

* * *

Lee pretended to fall asleep early that night, wanting to see what Kara would do now that he was out of his coma.

He could feel the heat of her hand as it hovered near his cheek. Her fingertips barely brushed against his skin and he immediately missed that slightest contact as she pulled her hand back.

He heard Kara's whispering voice, "Goodnight, Lee," and then the rustling of a blanket being pulled back and the sounds of someone getting settled into bed.

He willed his face into a neutral expression as he fell asleep for real.

* * *

Lee was up early the next morning, while Kara was still asleep just a few feet away. He awkwardly shoveled some kind of bland, lukewarm mush that Cullen brought him into his mouth, pausing occasionally to shuffle around the papers that sat next to his bowl. He kept on forgetting that his left arm was in a sling for a reason, and he felt a sharp pain every time he instinctively tried to reach out and steady the bowl or move a piece of paper.

The sounds a blanket being moved told him that Kara was beginning to wake up.

Lee turned his head to see her sleepily blink her eyes as she sat up in bed. She looked beautiful waking up.

Kara's eyes slowly focused on the figure sitting across the gap from her. "Uh…hey. I came in to check up on you last night. Guess I fell asleep," she mumbled, desperately hoping that he wouldn't press the issue.

But Lee just let his eyebrows rise and fall just once before turning back to the fuel reports he had been reading.

Kara frowned when she saw the mess of papers on the table in front of him.

"Paperwork, Lee? You should be resting."

Her concern for his well being sent a rush of warmth through Lee's body.

"My XO isn't a paranoid drunk with a horny shrew for a wife, but I don't want to know what sort of mess he can put us in if I leave him in charge for too long."

Kara couldn't resist the smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "Yeah, but…"

"It's not much, Kara. Just routine reports."

She frowned again, not satisfied with his answer.

"Plus, there's one little bit of housekeeping that concerns you."

"Oh?"

"Well it seems as if I need a new DCAG, since mine was poached to take over the job of a certain CAG who is technically UA."

Kara had the good graces to at least look a little bit embarrassed. "Oh."

Lee put down his spoon and pulled an envelope from the bottom of the pile of papers in front of him and waved it in front of Kara's face. "These are official transfer orders. They're yours if you want them. You won't have as much authority as you did on Galactica, but you'll get private quarters and there's a brand new Mark VII with your name on it." _Take them. Take them. Take them,_ he silently urged

Kara barely even hesitated before she took the envelope from Lee.

Lee's smile sent a jolt of excited energy through her body. She had waited so long to see him smile again that each one was special.

"Well you better get moving, Starbuck. You have CAP in half an hour and briefing's in fifteen minutes. You can move into your new quarters afterwards."

Kara snapped to attention and barked out, "Yes, sir!"

"Dismissed."

She exited sickbay grinning like a mad woman.

* * *

Kara walked through Pegasus at a brisk pace, feeling positively giddy from the adrenaline rush of flying once again.

Lee hadn't been kidding when he told her that there was a brand new Mark VII waiting for her in the hangar bay. It was the latest one off of Pegasus' production line and she spent most of her CAP getting acquainted with her new baby.

She had just filed her report and was trying to decide between going to the rec room and whipping all comers in Triad and going to sickbay and seeing Lee when President Roslin and her entourage plus the press turned the corner and walked straight towards her.

Roslin caught sight of her and called out, "Ah, Captain Thrace."

Kara snapped to attention and threw a quick salute. "Madame President."

"I'm on my way to sickbay to see Commander Adama, perhaps you'd like to join me."

"Uhm, of course, sir." It seemed as if her decision had just been made for her.

The soon-to-be-ex-president gave her a smile and all but dragged her along.

They entered sickbay to see that Lee sitting up in bed, with a smile that was just short of being insincere on his face. Kara stood back with everybody else while Roslin walked straight up to his bed.

Kara stifled a smirk. _'The fraker knew this was coming'_ she thought to herself.

"Commander, how good it is to see you awake."

Lee replied, "It's good to be awake, Madame President."

"Of course it is. Of course it is. Shall we do this then?"

Roslin cleared her throat and spoke loudly for the cameras and microphones present.

Kara half-listened as the president's speech, and only really began to listen when she saw the president's aide hand over a small box that could only have contained a medal.

"…and as one of my final acts as President of the Twelve Colonies, it is my honor to present Commander Lee Adama with the Colonial Medal of Heroism, for his selfless actions that saved the life of one of his crew with little regard to the extreme danger he was in and the severity of his own injuries."

Roslin leaned down and pinned the medal to Lee's pillowcase.

"Thank you, Madame President."

The president took his hand and held it for a moment, letting the photographers get several good shots of her awarding the injured hero.

She soon let go of his hand and continued to speak.

"And if I recall correctly, I believe that the recipient of an award such as this receives a kiss," Roslin turned to face Kara. "Captain Thrace, if you could do the honors…"

"Wha-? Oh!" Kara's eyes widened when she realized what the president was asking of her.

She walked up to Lee's bed and gave him a slightly nervous smile and saw the same nervousness reflected in his eyes. This was not how she pictured kissing Lee after he woke up, but she cupped a hand against his face and leaned in to press a soft kiss on his cheek to sound of popping flashbulbs.

The realization that that image would soon probably be all over the fleet didn't make her feel the least bit nervous.

* * *

AN: A new year calls for a kiss hotter than that, but what can I say? It's going to be slow going for the foreseeable future and I'm a fraking tease. 


	10. Chapter 10

AN: We'll be going through a bit of a transition period for the time being. In other words: I'm going to be winging the next few installments until I somehow link this section with one that I have roughly planned out. So many apologies in advance for any potential crappiness.

Kara stared up at the blackness that was her new deckhead.

It was strange.

Just a few weeks ago, it seemed as if she was going to be spending the rest of her life living in a cramped pilots' duty locker, listening to other people's noises and smelling their dirty socks.

And just less than forty eight hours ago, she had been prepared to stay in sickbay for as long as it took Lee to wake up, even if it meant a lifetime.

Now she had a space all to her own-a luxury virtually unheard of in their reality-and she couldn't sleep.

It was too dark. She had become used to the dimmed lights of sickbay.

For some reason, she missed the ever present smell of antiseptic

And she couldn't just roll over to make sure that Lee was OK.

What if something happened and she wasn't there?

Would they come find her?

Would she be able to get to his side in time?

Those were the thoughts running through her head when her alarm went off.

She sat up and ran her hands over her face before turning the lights on.

There would be no time for a run or stop by the wardroom for breakfast this morning.

She barely had enough time for her to get dressed and brush her teeth.

The CAG was supposed to be in a meeting with other senior officers and noncoms so she was going to be conducting the morning's briefing before flying CAP herself.

xxxxxxxxxx

There was no getting around the embarrassment of conducting a meeting while dressed in an open-backed hospital gown. Lee was quickly learning that it was all about ignoring that fact and acting as if nothing was out the ordinary. But it was hard to do while sitting in a hospital bed, surrounded by his senior officers and SNCOs.

His fully dressed senior officers and SNCOs.

It was nearly time for lunch by the time the meeting ended. Something that Lee was definitely not looking forward to.

He was wondering whether or not he should dig into the gunk in front of him when Corpsman Kelly walked up to his bed.

"Commander? You have a visitor."

"Send 'em in."

He eagerly looked up, hoping to see Kara, but saw an upset looking petty officer at the entrance to sickbay, instead.

'_Frak. Dee._'

xxxxxxxxxx

Kara made her way up the ladder to the hangar bay's upper deck, utterly exhausted and hungry after finishing her CAP. She figured that sitting in the wardroom for a little bit and having lunch would be enough to get her through the rest of her shift.

She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair, willing her body to keep moving through the exhaustion. Then she noticed a certain member of Galactica's enlisted crew walking up with an angry look in her eyes.

Dee stalked past, without acknowledging Kara's presence-something Kara would have let go under normal circumstances-but she also seemed to have suddenly decided that it would be a good idea to bump Kara's shoulder as hard as she could as she passed by.

Her attempt at being rude was laughable, but insulting nonetheless. But oddly enough, Kara didn't feel like retaliating in normal Starbuck fashion.

She respected the military's hierarchy enough so that she wouldn't constantly get in trouble for insubordination; beyond that, Kara treated most people with the equal amount of disdain, regardless of rank, and wasn't shy about letting a fist fly when so inclined.

But, today, she suddenly felt like using her authority over the petty officer who just decided to show open insubordination.

She took a deep breath and barked out, "Petty Officer Dualla, HALT!"

The comm officer reflexively stopped, turned, and snapped to attention. "Sir!"

Passing crew slowed as they passed by, interested in the spectacle that was about to unfold in front of them.

Kara walked up slowly to the younger woman until they stood toe to toe in the middle of the corridor. She crossed her arms and stared daggers at Dee.

"I believe it is common courtesy for one to say 'excuse me' after accidentally bumping into somebody, is it not?" Kara spoke quietly. Steadily.

Dee swallowed and answered, her voice shaky, "Sir, yes it is, sir."

Kara didn't really give a frak about how Dee felt and continued to "Well? I'm waiting, Petty Officer."

"Sir, excuse me, sir," Dee tried to inject a bit of disgust into her voice, but failed. "I'll be more careful next time, sir."

Kara just quirked an eyebrow as she looked the petty officer up and down, and smirked as she saw Dee falter, and fear began to show beneath Dee's anger. "Carry on."

She glared at Dee's back as the other woman continued on to the hangar bay, presumably to catch a flight back to Galactica.

One word ran through her head: 'Sickbay.' She wanted to find out what that was all about.

xxxxxxxxxx

She walked into sickbay, ignoring the strange looks the corpsmen on duty gave her, and immediately made her way to Lee's bed. He was sunk onto the raised back, clearly drained. She wasn't sure if it was from the long meeting he'd had against the doctor's recommendation or the visit from Dee. His lunch sat on the table in front of him, untouched.

"I just saw Dee looking as if she was ready to kill something."

Lee's head sort of lolled to the side so that he could make eye contact with his visitor, "Yeah. I'm sure she could."

Kara made herself comfortable in the chair next to Lee's bed. "What was that about?"

"Dee and I ended things."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So…"

Lee shifted slightly to a more comfortable position. "I guess nearly dying again made me realize that I should have gone in another direction the last time I nearly died."

"I see." Kara normally didn't dare to hope, but this time she couldn't help herself.

"The problem is that I don't know if that option's open. Or if it was ever open." There was something about Lee's gaze that made Kara shiver.

"I'm sure you could if you really wanted it to work out." '_Oh gods, please let him be talking about what I want him to be talking about._'

They sat in silence until her stomach loudly growled, reminding her that she hadn't had a meal all day, and the bowl of unidentifiable mush in front of Lee suddenly looked extremely appetizing.

"You're going to eat that?" Kara asked, pointing at the bowl.

"No. Go ahead."

She grabbed it and shoved the spoon into her mouth.

"Tastes like wet cardboard," she said around the food in her mouth. But she kept on eating; making quick work of whatever it was that was in the bowl.

Lee could only smile at the sight.

"Uh…you've got a little something on your chin."

* * *

Several days later…

Today was a momentous occasion.

To most, it was a day of change.

Where President Roslin would step down and President-elect Baltar would be sworn in.

To Kara, today was the day she would give Lee a little present that she had gone and found just for him.

xxxxxxxxxx

It felt good to be wearing something other than a hospital gown, even if he was just wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

It would have felt better if it hadn't had been for the sling around his neck and the braces on his hip and knee reminding him that, for the time being, he could barely even be considered walking wounded.

So Lee was listening carefully to what the doctor had to say about his road to recovery-and ignoring Baltar's inauguration on the wireless-as he practiced hobbling back-and-forth in sickbay with a crutch under the watchful eye of Corpsman Cullen.

"And the great Apollo deigns to walk among us mere mortals once again." Kara's voice preceded her as she walked into sickbay.

Lee just grunted as he rotated his body to move his bad leg forward. "Shut up, Starbuck."

He turned his head to look at his visitor to see that she had her hands behind her back. Obviously hiding something she wanted him to see. Knowing Kara, Lee was immediately cautious.

"Do I want to know what you're hiding behind your back?"

A playful gleam shone in Kara's eyes as she smiled. "Well, I went and got you a little something."

"Now I know I don't want to know."

Kara's smile got just a little bit wider before she pulled a black wooden cane from behind her back presented it to Lee with a flourish. "Your cane, Commander," she said with as much ceremony she could muster.

Lee stared at the curved handle as it hovered under his nose. "Please don't tell me that that's the one you used."

"Nope," Kara almost sounded disappointed. "I got this one off of some old lady whose husband died last week."

"That's not any better," Lee muttered. He handed the crutch he had been using to Cullen, grabbed onto the cane's handle. "You're enjoying this way too much."

"What can I say, Lee?" Kara said with a shrug. "Payback's a bitch."

Lee didn't bother replying, instead he jabbed the tip of his new cane onto the deck, dangerously close to Kara's toes.

"Hey!"

"What's the matter, Starbuck? Afraid you'll get hurt?"

'Okay, then," Kara took ten steps away from Lee and faced him, challenge clearly shining in her eyes. "Let's see you walk all the way here."

It was painful to watch Lee slowly make his way towards her, while trying to get used to the new sensation of using a cane instead of a crutch.

Good leg.

Cane.

Bad leg.

One.

Good leg.

Cane.

Bad leg.

Two.

Meanwhile, over the wireless, Baltar's inaugural speech was reaching its climax: "_…I would like to announce the immediate colonization of the planet now known as: New Caprica!_"

"What?" Lee was shocked by the announcement; as much by the declaration that colonization would begin before proper surveys had been done as by the utter audacity of the new president to unilaterally name a world after what had been one in a dozen.

The momentary distraction was all that was needed to throw him off balance. His cane clattered to the deck as he pitched forward, his injured hip and knee making it impossible for him to stop his momentum.

He was falling. The deck seemed closer and closer.

Then his face hit the shoulder of a blue uniform jacket and two arms wrapped around him, holding him up.

"I've got you, Lee," Kara whispered. "I've got you."

AN: I know that some of you will be disappointed by my glossing over Dee confronting Lee, but I never liked how her character was expanded and I never liked the way she was portrayed. She falls flat on screen and every attempt I made at writing her fell flat as well.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Yikes. Writing this was like pulling out my own teeth without Novocain. Painful.

Kara helped Lee stay on his feet as Cullen picked up his dropped cane and handed it to him. She missed the feel of his right hand on her back as it grasped the cane and how his weight had pressed against her as he began to support himself again.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Lee nodded into her shoulder, "Yeah."

He didn't feel too much pain from his fall. It was more of a twinge as he tried to stand up straight with Kara's help. He could have sworn that her hands lingered a bit as they slid off of his back and down to her sides, and he immediately missed the sensation of being held by her.

Kara had to tamp down a bit of jealously as Cullen ran her hands along Lee's body to make sure that his injuries hadn't been aggravated in the fall, but Lee waved the young corpsman away and slowly hobbled to where Kara was leaning against the corpsman's station with a worried look on her face.

"Well. I made it," Lee said with a slight groan, but his tone was light. "What do I win?"

That got him a small smile.

"Who said anything about a prize?" Kara asked softly.

Lee waved the handle of his cane under her nose, much like she had done to him just a few minutes before. "I know how to use one of these."

Kara was about to retort when a soft vibration suddenly shook through the Pegasus, causing instruments to rattle in their trays and the beds to slightly bounce along the deck. Kara and Lee looked at each other as they tried to figure out what was going on.

Then the entire ship jerked hard, again and again in rapid succession, causing Lee to lurch towards Kara once more. She threw one arm around him and flailed around with the other to try and latch onto something that could help support their combined weight.

As quickly as it started, it stopped.

And Kara and Lee were latched onto one another against a desk whose contents were now scattered all over the deck.

They were breathing heavily, waiting to see if another wave would shake the ship, but none came.

Yet they still held onto each other for what seemed to be the longest time.

"You can let go now," Lee finally mumbled into Kara's shoulder.

"Oh. Sorry."

As soon as he was free, Lee made his way to phone. "This is the Commander. Sitrep."

He hung up the phone and said, "I need to get to CIC," to no one in particular and began moving towards the hatch. Kara quickly caught up to him. She had no idea what was happening, but figured that she was going to find out soon enough if she followed Lee.

* * *

The XO looked up from where he was conferring with a petty officer when he heard the entrance to CIC hiss as it rotated open. "Commander on deck!" 

Most of the crew had barely even processed the fact that they were supposed to be standing at attention when Lee barked out, "Report!" as he made his way to the chart table. Kara hung back, not really knowing what to do in this current crisis.

"We've been hit, Commander," the XO moved to join Lee.

"With what?"

"Debris."

"Debris from what?"

"An explosion, sir. It could have been a nuke." Kara's eyes widened at those words.

"A NUKE?" Lee yelled incredulously.

Kara noted that the XO was beginning to feel flustered. Injured or in full health, Lee could be extremely intimidating whenever he wanted to be.

"Sir, the radiological alarm went off for a split second before stopping. We were trying to determine if it was real or just a glitch due to all the EM interference out there when we were hit, sir."

Lee whipped his head to look up at the displays above the chart table. He had been briefed on the EM field surrounding the planet, but was just beginning to see how much it was affecting their instrumentation.

The DRADIS display was flickering badly and it hurt his eyes to even look at it. But he strained his eyes to make out a disturbingly large gap in what used to be a fleet of evenly spaced ships.

"How badly were we hit?"

Lee walked around the chart table to see the display showing a schematic of the Pegasus.

"Pretty hard, sir. But our armor held and there is no damage to our structural integrity."

The helmsman piped up from his station, "We've got RCS thrusters on our starboard side locked open and firing, Commander. I'm compensating with port side thrusters, but we can barely maneuver. Our orbit's holding steady, though."

Lee addressed the XO, "DC teams?"

"Already working on it, sir."

"Good."

A thought popped into his head, and he cursed himself for almost completely forgetting about it-especially since he had been a pilot until not too long ago.

"What about our CAP?"

"The fighters were outside the blast zone, sir."

"Good. Where's the CAG?"

Kara spoke up, "He's leading the CAP."

Lee turned to Kara, since authority over the air group fell to her in the CAG's absence, "Launch the alert fighters. I want CAPs doubled until further notice. And I want two additional Raptors out there scanning every ship at full power. I don't give a frak if the commanders complain about it messing with their telemetry."

Kara nodded, moved to pick up the nearest handset, and proceeded to relay Lee's orders to the flight deck. "This is the DCAG…"

Meanwhile, Hoshi called out to Lee, "Galactica is on the line, sir."

"Put him through." Lee hung his cane off of the edge of the chart table and picked up an available handset. "This is Pegasus Actual. Go ahead, Galactica."

"_Should you be up?_" His father's voice came through distorted over the wireless.

"Now's, really not the time, Admiral."

"_Right. How's the Pegasus?_"

"Looks like a couple of dents and an almost complete loss of maneuverability. DC teams are working on it now, but our orbit's steady." '_For now_,' he added silently.

"How's Galactica?"

"_We weren't hit. I've been trying to get the fleet to check in, but the roll call's been spotty at best. As far as we can tell, we've lost…_"

Lee fought the urge to let his shoulders slump as his father read out the list of ships that were confirmed or presumed to be destroyed.

Finally, the transmission ended and Lee placed the handset back in its cradle. He picked up his cane from where he had hung it and began walking around to look at the various displays again.

He made a quick mental calculation as he stared at the flickering DRADIS display and ran the names of the ships his father his father had read to him through his head. No matter how he tried to look at it-no matter how many times he reran the numbers just to make sure that he wasn't mistaken-the picture was extremely bleak.

Kara noticed that Lee had stopped moving and was just staring at the DRADIS. His good hand was trembling from holding onto his cane so tightly.

She moved to his side and quietly spoke to him, "What is it?"

She unconsciously placed her hand over his trembling one to try and calm him down.

Lee didn't take his eyes off of the DRADIS, but he said in a low voice: "We just lost over two thousand people."


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Talk about some serious writer's block. I had all but given up, but then I started listening to Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill sing "Au Fond du Temple Saint" and it all just began pouring out.

0000000000

Lee hadn't been aware that he had been running off of nothing but adrenaline until the pain in his hip and knee came back in full, throbbing force. Although continuing to stand and hobble around CIC was out of the question for the moment, he didn't want to be too far away in case another emergency arose, so he headed to his small ready room to sit and wait.

He had left orders before he left CIC, and now he and his XO were seated on the small sofas in the cramped space, reading over the reports the XO had brought in.

"All our nuclear warheads are accounted for, Commander," the Colonel said. "We've opened them up, as per your orders, and made sure that their payloads are still there. There's nothing missing, sir."

Lee ran his good hand over his face, "And the explosives in our arms lockers?"

"Still in their cases and under lock and key, sir."

A knock came from the hatch.

"Come in," Lee said loudly.

The hatch opened and in came York, his yeoman, carrying a tray of food and a pill container.

"The doctor said that it's time for you to eat something so that you can take your meds, sir."

Lee gestured with his hand, "Leave it on the table."

"Yessir," York placed the tray in front of Lee and put the yellow pill container next to the plate. "And the doctor told me to remind you that you shouldn't-"

"I know. York," Lee interrupted. "Dismissed."

"Sir." The yeoman briefly stood at attention before making his exit.

"Is there anything else, Colonel?"

"No, sir. I'll inform you if any new developments come up."

"Good. You may leave."

The XO rose from his seat. "Sir."

"And shut the hatch," Lee said to the Colonel's back.

He turned his attention to the tray of food in front of him. It wasn't the mush that he had been eating in sickbay, but it looked just as bland. He picked up the fork with a sigh and automatically began to chew and swallow the tasteless chunks of whatever it was that came from the wardroom.

He had no idea how much time passed before the plate was finished. He just put his fork down and opened the pill container to pour the proper medications into his mouth before he realized that the pitcher of water and glasses were on his desk, out of reach.

Lee leaned heavily on his cane and stood with a groan that was muffled by the pills in his mouth. He limped to his desk and messily poured himself a glass of water and washed down his pills with a wince.

He was contemplating if he should try and mop up the mess or if he should leave it to dry when another knock came from the hatch.

"Come in."

The hatch groaned open and Kara walked in, having changed out of her blue duty uniform and into her flight suit. Just seeing her again considerably brightened up the miserable day, but the look on her face told him something was wrong.

"What is it?" Lee asked softly as he slowly made his way towards her.

"Galactica just called in the final tally…and…your initial estimate was on the conservative side." He immediately picked up the warble in Kara's voice. The barely controlled emotion in her speech caused him to pause.

"How conservative?"

Kara stepped up to Lee and held the piece of paper she held in her hands in front of his face so that he could read the casualty report. He had been off by almost a thousand souls.

"That's nearly ten percent of the fleet."

Lee bowed his head, trying to process the information, and trying to tamp down the wave of emotions that threatened to spill over, when another wave-one of nausea-swept through him.

Kara noticed the subtle shifts in Lee posture; how his wrist locked as his hand tightened around his cane and how his shoulders rose and fell as he swallowed down his emotions. Hard. "Are you alright?"

He looked up. She was shocked to see how pale he had suddenly become. "Yeah…it's just my medication. I'm not used to the side effects yet."

Kara moved towards the hatch, "I'll get someone to help you back to sickbay."

"No!" Lee said, a little too forcefully, causing Kara to turn back to face him, concern etched across her face. "No," softer now.

"I just need to…" he paused as another wave of nausea passed through his body. "Sit down for a bit."

Lee managed to make it to the couch with Kara's help and sat down heavily, causing him to wince at the pain it sent shooting from his hip.

"You better get going, you have to fly CAP in a few minutes," he held back the urge to gag as nausea passed through him again. "And when you're out there, tell the CAG that I want to see him in an hour."

Kara gently ran her hand over Lee's face. "Are you sure you're fine?"

Lee closed his eyes to the sensation of Kara's cool hand on his cheek and merely nodded.

"Go," he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine."

Kara suddenly leaned forward and impulsively placed a soft kiss against Lee lips.

She pulled back to see Lee's blue eyes were wide with bewilderment. She gave him a small smile and softly said, "I better get going. I'll talk to you after I finish my CAP."

Lee just nodded dumbly and watched Kara walk out of his ready room and shut the hatch behind her.

But his thoughts couldn't linger for too long.

Nausea hit him again, and this time, he let his head roll and a groan to escape.


	13. Chapter 13

Her shift over-she had spent the entire time thinking about the kiss she had given Lee-Kara headed to Lee's ready room to talk to him as she had promised.

She knocked on the hatch, and heard no answer. Easing it open just enough to stick her head through, Kara found that the room was dark and empty. She leaned back out and grabbed a passing petty officer.

"Where's the Commander?"

"He left a couple of hours ago, sir. He must have gone back to sickbay."

As if.

Lee hated being considered an invalid as much as she did. Maybe even more. If he wasn't in CIC or his ready room, it meant that he had made his way back to his quarters.

Kara secured the hatch and proceeded to head towards the commander's quarters.

* * *

Lee sat on the couch in his quarters, awkwardly balancing an open folder on his lap while holding the phone to his ear with his good hand. He was on a secure line to his father, providing the admiral with a status report of what was going on.

"The damage to our starboard RCS thrusters have been repaired enough so that we have fifty percent maneuverability, Admiral. We're still at Condition Two and I've got armed marines standing guard in our missile bay and magazines, as well as at every arms locker."

"_Okay. Is there anything else?_"

_Kara kissed me_, Lee thought to himself, but he said, "No."

There must have been something in his voice, or maybe his father was just concerned, because Adama switched gears. "_Are you sure you're okay, Lee? I'm sure your XO can continue to handle things for the time being._"

"I'm fine, Dad," Lee insisted. "I have to get back on my feet, anyway, so it's probably better for it to be sooner or later."

"_You're not even in sickbay, are you?_"

"No."

There was a pause as Adama debated with himself whether or not it would be a good idea to order Lee back to sickbay. He decided against it. "_Get some rest, son._"

"I will, Dad. Talk to you later."

"_Alright._"

With that, the conversation was over.

Lee hung up the phone, but the movement jostled the folder in his lap and sent it fluttering down to the deck.

"Frak," he muttered.

He tried leaning down to pick it up, but the brace on his hip limited his movement, and the sling made his balance precarious, threatening to send him tumbling to the side and potentially worsening every one of his injuries.

A few half-hearted attempts were all he made before he leaned back into the couch with a frustrated sigh.

His mind automatically wandered towards earlier in the day, in his ready room. To when Kara kissed him.

As much as he wanted to celebrate with joy at that fact, Lee couldn't help but remember that night when he and Kara had almost slept together.

Back when he had wanted more, and she had merely wanted to forget about her troubles for a night.

Back when she was preoccupied with her feelings for another man.

But this latest kiss…

There was something there. But he couldn't be too sure.

Because as well as he knew Kara, Lee also knew that she was as unpredictable as they came.

Experience showed him that he had to be prepared for everything Kara could potentially throw at him. And he had learned that a few of those things included rejection and indifference.

A knock came from the hatch.

"Come in."

Kara entered with a small smile on her face.

"Hey."

"Hey."

She closed the hatch behind her and walked towards Lee.

As she got closer, Kara could see the walls Lee was beginning to build around himself. She knew those walls well, since she used them herself to keep the worlds at bay.

But now, to see someone else she cared deeply for put up those same defenses to protect themselves from her…it hurt her deeply.

Was that what she had put Lee through all this time?

To care for somebody so much, only to see them prepare to push you away and reject everything you offer them because they were afraid that you'd hurt them.

Kara sat herself on the coffee table in front of and to the side of Lee. The sides of their knees touched, and somehow that lightest contact seemed extremely intimate.

She looked straight at him, but he focused on their touching knees.

"You were thinking about what happened in your ready room, weren't you?" Kara asked.

Lee nodded.

"Yeah."

"Lee…" Kara paused to gather her thoughts. So that she wouldn't be tripping over her words at a moment like this.

"I know that I'm not the easiest person to believe, but that day I was supposed to leave for Caprica…I could see how much you didn't want me to go…and it took me more than I had to not throw myself into your arms. Didn't you see it, Lee?"

Lee met her eyes, and she could see that he was listening for real. He was receptive to what she had to say.

That was a good sign.

"What about Anders?"

"He's just a memory now. And that's all he'll be for me anymore."

"A good one?" His tone was petulant, but she deserved that.

Kara closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of the scars on her abdomen. She had fixated about that one little bright spot to try and push away the memories of everything else she had gone through on Caprica. That had been a mistake.

A big one.

She opened her eyes to see Lee looking back at her. The walls were coming back up again, and she cursed herself at the realization that she taken too long in her own thoughts.

Kara realized that she was always focused on herself. Lee, on the other hand, was about the bigger picture, the grand scheme of things.

That's what made him so perceptive of other people's feelings and the needs of others, as well as a top-notch leader.

And that was why he felt things so strongly. He was always so busy taking care of others that he had never built up the armor to properly protect himself.

She quickly moved from her perch on the coffee table and sat next to Lee on the couch.

Lee winced, and Kara couldn't tell if it was because of pain or because of her proximity.

But she didn't move away, instead she leaned in closer, mindful not to push too much against Lee's body.

He needed to know that what she felt for him was real.

"Sam's just one part of a bigger nightmare. And focusing on him didn't help me any."

"Kara…"

This was a conversation for another time. And it was a conversation that was going to happen, Kara promised herself. Now was the time for something else.

She closed the short distance between them and pressed her lips against Lee's. She wasn't sure about how he would react, but she kept their lips firmly pressed together, and gently ran her hand up Lee's chest and to the back of his head, pulling him closer to her. She hoped that he would realize the sincerity of her feelings

He didn't react. Not at first.

But she didn't pull back. She held them in place, waiting patiently to see what he would do.

Then Lee's lips softened into fullness and his good hand slid up Kara's side and into her hair. He pulled the tie off, sending her ponytail cascading down to her shoulders, and let his fingers tangle themselves into those soft locks.

He felt her tongue prod against his lips and he opened his mouth to accept it, meeting it with his own.

They moved easily with each other, as if they had been doing this forever. But the electric sensation that traveled through their bodies told them that this was all very new, and neither wanted it to ever go away.

Kara had a smile on her lips when they finally parted for air.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," she quietly murmured.

Lee took a breath as if he was about to say something, but Kara cut him off with another kiss.

This time, he responded immediately.

This time, there was no doubt as to what the two of them wanted, and they both lost track of the passage of time as their lips and tongues met in a mutual dance of passion.

"I want this, Lee," Kara said. "I want a relationship with you. A real relationship. If you'll let me."

They both moved in close so that their lips brushed together as Kara spoke.

"If you want me," she whispered softly in a trembling voice, letting Lee see her vulnerable side for real, and not just in those few brief moments when she didn't know that her guard was down.

"I want you, Kara." And that was all she needed to hear.

'_Forever, Kara. I want you forever,'_ Lee thought as their lips met once more.

One day, he'd tell her that for real.

AN: And so it begins. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Another episodic installment taking place over several weeks. I'm just getting some things out of the way before I can get this story moving again.

* * *

They were together. 

They were a couple.

Even if they did decide to keep it quiet for now.

It all seemed so new, but oddly enough, in many ways this new step in their relationship was also like a great step back to how it used to be.

That heaviness that defined them in the build up to when Kara was to leave for Caprica had lifted. They ate their meals together whenever their schedules allowed, talking and laughing like they used to do as pilots on Galactica and did their paperwork while sitting next to each other on the couch in Lee's quarters

But now, as the hours wore on and that familiar tension of being in such close proximity to each other grew too great, one of them didn't have to leave the room. They had a better way of easing it.

The paperwork was invariably tossed aside and they would end up making out like teenagers. The sling around his neck and the bulky white brace he wore on his hip made it impossible for them to get as close as they wanted, but they worked around them when the need to be close became too great.

* * *

Hoshi had determined that the explosion that had decimated the fleet had originated from Cloud Nine. That was all the general population and most of the military knew. They all thought that it had been caused by an engine room accident and not a nuke. 

The extreme loss of life and resources had sent the fleet reeling, but Baltar insisted that the investigation be quickly wrapped up and that colonization of New Caprica begin as soon as possible, and had the process begin by ordering all ships that could do so land at a site chosen by the president himself.

Raptors were tasked with ferrying supplies down from the ships that were to remain in orbit to the surface of the planet and to do the heavy lifting at the various worksites. But the near round-the-clock work schedule and the strain of constantly entering and exiting the atmosphere quickly wore down the crews and forced the CAGs of the two battlestars to begin putting Viper pilots into the Raptor rotation.

Viper pilots who weren't shifted over to fly Raptors were pulling double CAPs to try and make up for the shortage in manpower, quickly wearing them out as well.

There was grumbling amongst the deck crew-as they stayed up around the clock to keep the planes flying-that was beginning to boil over to the rest of the ship. A fight had broken out in the enlisted mess after a machinist at the end of his rope having to fabricate parts for the Raptors had enough and punched a fellow crewmember who had been talking about how nice it felt to once again breathe fresh air.

Not even the most senior member of the crew was immune from the petty tensions that were erupting throughout the fleet. Lee had been roped into mediating a dispute between the brand new government and the commanders of the vessels that would have to remain in orbit, who the government was accusing of hoarding supplies that could somehow help in the colonization effort.

Despite his best efforts to remain impartial, Lee was sympathetic towards his fellow space farers and the government's blundering attempts at having the commanders break into their emergency supplies was quickly fraying his patience.

And quite frankly, he had had enough of the president's usual whining when away from the cameras and microphones of the press corps long before the election had finished.

Lee hung up the phone after a particularly draining conversation with the newly appointed Vice-President Zarek and leaned into the back of the couch and covered his eyes with his good arm.

A noise came from the hatch.

"I don't want to be disturbed," Lee called out.

But the hatch opened anyway. Only one person would have the audacity to do that.

"You look like you could use a drink," Kara's voice traveled into his ears.

"You know I can't." Not while he was still taking medication for the pain.

"I'm just saying…"

Lee lifted his arm off his face to see his visitor. She was dressed down in her tanks and green cargoes.

"Are you off duty?"

Kara nodded. "For once. I'm trying to get enough players to get a card game going in the wardroom. You want in?"

"Can't," he said. His voice came out harsher than he intended.

"Why not?" Kara's hackles were immediately raised. The CAG had put her in charge of Raptor flights, meaning that she had been playing bus driver and her own patience-what little there was-was beginning to wear thin. "It looks as if you could use the break."

"I can't, Kara," he repeated.

Lee slowly stood up. His hip was beginning to ache and he hoped walking around a bit would ease the pain. It also got him closer to Kara.

"Why?" There was a dangerous upturn in her voice, signaling that an explanation better come soon.

"Because I have to lead these people, Kara."

"Bullshit! You played cards all the time when you were CAG."

"Be honest. Was I anything more than just a glorified squadron leader?"

Even in her escalating anger, Kara could understand Lee's reasoning. If Pegasus had been fully crewed, Lee and the CAG would have had the same rank, with Lee having seniority. And Galactica, as an admiral's flagship, would have had four commanders on top of the admiral.

Lee kept on talking, "If I lose anything to the crew, they'll begin questioning my decisions. And if I win anything from them, they'll begin to resent me. And it's probably about time that you got it through your thick skull that you're not God to the nuggets anymore. You have real authority over real pilots and you should now realize how hard it is to maintain respect and not fear like any old brute!"

Kara reflexively drew her fist back and let it fly, and Lee's hand just as reflexively let his cane clatter to the deck to come up and slap her hand away. Unfortunately, that deflected the blow down to graze his injured collar bone. The sudden blast of pain made his vision go white and his ears ring.

"Oh gods." Kara turned and made to get the hell out of Lee's quarters.

"Kara…wait," Lee called out weakly. He reached out and hooked his hand on her arm just as it was about to get out of range.

She stopped and let him turn her around and pull her closer, but refused to look at him.

Lee ran his hand down her arm and paused when he felt the heat coming from her skin. He gently turned Kara's arm over so that he could see the red marks his fingers had left on the milky white skin of her forearm. He then brought his hand to her chin to urge her to look at him. The unshed tears in her eyes threatened to cause tears to fall from his eyes as well.

"I'm sorry." Lee brought his good hand to Kara's waist and pulled her body flush against his. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Her arms came up around his neck and she buried her face against his shoulder.

"Me too."

* * *

The doctor sat downe and clamped several x-rays onto the light board by his desk and flipped a switch. He turned to the patient who was sitting on the examination table next to him. 

"Congratulations, Commander. The hip brace and sling can come off today."

"Really?" Despite his disbelieving tone, Lee shucked the sling off to the side and worked on the elastic Velcro straps that fastened the ugly contraption to his body.

"Yes, sir. You're going to have to wear the brace on your knee for a while longer, but I don't see anything that'll keep you from passing a flight physical once we've completed physical therapy and rebuilt the muscle mass you've lost."

"Great."

"But take it easy. You could end up back in one of these beds if you try to do too much too soon, Commander."

"I know, Doctor."

* * *

Lee was in his quarters, practicing walking-more like limping-without his cane and getting used to the sensation of having full range of motion in his hip again, when a knock came from the hatch. 

"Come in."

The hatch opened and Kara entered carrying a bundle in her hands. Her brows furrowed when she saw Lee standing in the middle of the room with no assistance.

"Why aren't you wearing your sling? And where's your brace?"

"Don't need them anymore," Lee said happily. "My bones have healed up enough."

"And your cane?"

Lee pointed to where it lay on his desk. "Just trying my legs out. So what are you doing here?"

Kara gestured towards the bundle in her hands. Upon closer inspection, Lee saw that it was her shower kit and clean clothes.

"Everyone's falling asleep in the showers, so I thought I'd finally exercise a few of my new privileges."

Lee paused mid-limp on his way to his cane to shoot Kara a puzzled look. "What new privileges?"

"The Commander's my boyfriend, remember? That means I get to use his shower whenever I want."

He liked how that sounded coming out of her mouth. "My boyfriend."

"Go ahead," he gestured towards the entrance to his head with a smile.

Kara put down her clothes and sauntered past him on her way, pausing to give him a lingering kiss and a smile in thanks.

Lee felt a familiar longing begin to stir within him. Although there was a great deal of kissing and touching between them for the past several weeks, his injuries prevented them from being any more intimate with one another. But now…

The next thing he knew, Kara was stepping out of the steam from her shower with one towel securely wrapped around her body and using another to dry her hair. Lee's legs automatically hobbled him over to where she was.

He stood by the entrance to the cramped head as Kara continued to dry her hair. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye. Turning to face Lee, she gave him a small smile and asked, "See something you like?"

"Come here."

Kara dropped the towel she held in her hands and took the half a step to close the distance between them. She slipped easily into his embrace, resting her hands on his shoulders, and laid her damp head against his shoulder. Lee could feel the wetness seeping through to his skin, but he didn't care. He just focused on how nice it was to have her in his arms.

"Gods, it feels good to hold you properly," Lee said into her skin, his voice husky with desire. He placed a kiss on her shoulder and breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of soap, shampoo, and Kara Thrace.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He felt her lips press against his neck before she raised her head so that they were looking at each other. Her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest and began playing with the top button of his uniform jacket.

Lee pressed his lips against Kara's. His tongue pressed insistently against her lips and was immediately granted access. She began pushing him backwards out of the head when he broke the kiss.

"This might take a while," Lee muttered as he turned so that he could walk with minimal fear of falling. Kara laughed and began slowly walking backwards and matched Lee's awkward gait so that their bodies never broke contact.

Along the way, Lee lost his jacket and tanks, and Kara threw off her towel just as they reached the bed.

Soon they were both naked and exploring each others bodies with their hands and mouths, getting to know each other in the most tender, intimate way possible.

She straddled his hips as their bodies finally joined together, but kept most of her weight off of him for fear of hurting him. But Lee just tugged gently on Kara's hips and slid his hands up her sides, pulling her down so that their bodies were flush against each other.

Kara whispered, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Lee whispered back.

That was all she needed to hear to start moving.

Slowly.

Gently.

It was pure, delightful torture as each little movement built up that delicious tension in their bodies and every little fiber of their beings wound up in preparation for that final release.

They never broke eye contact and their lips barely stopped touching as they got closer and closer to the point of no return.

And finally, it hit. With a silent intensity that caused her entire body to tremble and his arms to tighten around her as they tumbled over that ledge together.

Kara's eyes squeezed shut and she opened her mouth as if to scream, but all that came out was a high pitched, hoarse, raspy noise.

She fell, limp and pliable, onto Lee's body, reveling in how even the gentle caress of his hands on her back flooded her body with that electric, tingling sensation.

A thousand thoughts ran through her hazy mind, but it was one emotion that broke through that fog. A powerful, familiar one that used to scare her.

But now, it didn't seem so scary.

That was her last thought as she fell asleep to the sound of Lee's voice softly whispering in her ear.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

Kara slowly awoke, feeling warmer and more rested than she could remember. The exhaustion that had hung over her like a cloud for the past several weeks was gone. She felt as if she could handle whatever it was that the galaxy decided to throw in her way today, even if it was sitting at a desk trying to find the optimum schedules for increasingly-exhausted pilots.

The room was dark with the exception of the softly glowing lights from the head. Lee must have gotten up sometime during the night to turn the lights off.

She used her arms to lift slightly lift her upper body off of Lee's, staying within the comforting embrace of his arms, and took a moment to take a look at Lee's sleeping face. She had gotten to know it well during those long days sitting vigil by his bedside.

How peaceful he looked in slumber. Those nearly permanent furrows on his brow were gone and his lips-so often drawn into a thin line while dealing with the stresses of command-were relaxed and slightly parted. She liked to think that she had something to do with this state for once.

The lords knew that she had given him her fair share of trouble, both intentionally and unintentionally, and she knew that they would continue to get on each other's nerves-they wouldn't be who they were if they didn't-

His alarm buzzed loudly, interrupting her thoughts. She looked over at the offending clock and reached over to shut it off, but Lee beat her to it.

Kara looked down to see Lee slowly blinking himself awake in the dim light.

He smiled at her as soon as he was lucid enough to make eye contact, partly from how the ends of her hair tickled as they brushed across his face, and mostly just from being able to wake up with Kara in his arms.

"Good morning," Lee said with a voice still heavy from sleep.

"Hey," she said back with a smile.

He brought a hand up to brush her back so that he could get a clear view of her face.

They continued to look at each other and Kara slowly lowered her head until their lips touched.

Their kiss grew hot quickly and their arousal steamed the air around them.

Caught up in the moment, Lee impulsively rolled them over so that he was on top and Kara eagerly tightened her arms around him, both forgetting about his limitations until Lee's left knee hit the mattress.

He jerked back onto his back, snapping out of her embrace, with a load groan.

She was immediately hovering over him, her face etched with panic.

"Oh gods. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said through gritted teeth. "Yeah…It's just my knee."

Kara continued to look at him with a worried look on her face until his own relaxed when the sharp pain turned into a dull throb.

The pain now at a more manageable level, Lee pulled Kara down beside him and rolled onto his side so that they were looking at each other, nose to nose.

"Guess we're kind of limited in what we can do for now."

"Yeah."

They held each other for a moment. Just enjoying the close contact until Lee remembered that they had work to do and looked over his shoulder at his clock.

"We better get moving. Do you want to take the shower first?"

"No, you go ahead."

"Mind if I turn on the lights?"

"Nope."

Lee got up out of bed, and Kara immediately missed having him with her. She sat up, but kept the blanket wrapped around her. Without the warmth of his body near her, Pegasus was a little too chilly for her nude body.

She watched Lee limp towards the head, pausing by his desk to take a pill from a container.

The sound of running water and light steam began to come from the head and she lay back down and closed her eyes to the memories of what she shared with Lee the night before.

Kara's eyes opened when she heard soft footsteps padding across the deck. Lee had finished his shower and was heading to his closet to get dressed. In the light of his fully lit quarters, she could get a clear view of his body.

He was thinner. Not being able to exercise while wearing the sling and those braces meant that he'd lost a lot of muscle mass. It would probably take months of physical therapy before he was back to his pre-accident physique.

The thin, neat surgical scar from where the chest tube had been inserted stood in contrast to the scars of various sizes peppering his side and arm from where shrapnel had hit him.

And that circular scar on his chest from the bullet she had put in him. He'd told her that there was no reason for her to feel guilty anymore, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge every time she saw it. And she assumed she always would.

"Shower's all yours."

Kara blinked at the sound of Lee's voice.

"Thanks."

She let the blanket fall from her body as she got out of bed and sauntered past Lee to the head.

Lee had slipped on his jacket and was experimentally rotating his left arm around its socket when Kara came out of the shower.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," He grinned when he turned to look at her. "Just getting used to having two arms again."

She smiled back and went to the clean clothes she brought last night.

Lee watched as she got dressed in front of him. Neither of them was shy about being naked in front of other people-it came with living in such close quarters-but now he could really look at Kara and marvel at her beauty without fear of breaking the unspoken rules of decorum in a pilots' duty locker.

She had put on her tanks and was buttoning up her pants when he really couldn't resist anymore. He limped over to stand behind her and when she turned to face him, he cupped her face and kissed her deeply.

When their lips finally separated, his fingers traced a light path down from her jaw to the chain around her neck.

"You're wearing both of your tags again."

"Yeah. I got it back from Sam. Well…it was more like-he tried to get close so I shoved him to the deck and ripped the tag from his neck when I noticed that he was wearing it."

Lee's expression was amused, but Kara remained serious. "I never should have given it to him." She turned her eyes down and fingered the pilot's wings he'd begun wearing again since his other set was destroyed. "It just complicated things."

He sobered quickly and urged her to look at him again. "Things would have been complicated no matter what," he said softly.

"Yeah, but-"

"Hey…we're here. That's all that matters now."

His voice washed over her like a soothing balm, and she realized that it was true. They were here. Together. At that point where they both wanted to be for so long, but couldn't get the timing right.

And as she caught his lips once again before they went their separate ways for the morning, that feeling from the night before came back, enveloping her in comforting warmth.

"I'll see you at lunch." It was a statement not a question. There really was no doubt as to whether or not they would be eating together.

She smirked. "Your private dining room?"

"If you want."

"See you then."

Kara stepped out from his embrace-although Lee's hands lingered at her waist-grabbed her jacket and exited the room, taking one last look at Lee before she closed the hatch behind her.

Lee looked down to finish buttoning up his jacket when he noticed the crumpled fabric on the deck: Kara's clothes from last night.

He made a mental note to have it cleaned and sent back to his quarters later. Then he grabbed his cane and headed off to CIC.

**AN: Thank you to all those who left reviews for the last installment. Reading them all was simply amazing. Hope you guys will continue to read this story and leave reviews. Even if it's to tell me that you think I'm slipping :)  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**People have been asking when I was going to get into the New Caprica storyline. Well…here we go.**

"I commit my planes and manpower to the construction of a new permanent settlement and the result is a fraking tent city."

"They say it's only temporary."

"Well, whatever the hell they build better be worth those brawls we had in enlisted country."

Lee and Kara were standing on the flat-topped hill that was designated as the landing site for all ships that were designed to do be able to. They were surrounded by passenger liners, freighters, the odd science and exploration vehicle, and at the end, holding a place of honor much like the old presidential palace in Caprica City was Colonial One.

They looked down at what was dubbed New Caprica City, a sea of green canvas cloth mounted on metal piping. But whatever the government decided to call it, Lee felt a combination of disbelief and sadness in how their reality had turned into something akin to the pictures he'd seen in history books.

Beyond the tents, a grandstand and chairs were set up for the groundbreaking ceremony that was to begin soon. After months of quibbling over various issues, the government was finally going to break ground on what was going to be its new permanent home.

Lee glanced at his watch and made a quick mental calculation as to how long it would take for them to walk to the ceremony site. They would need to start moving soon, and he told Kara so.

She looked at him and asked with a slight whine, "Do I really have to go?"

"I could make it an order," he deadpanned.

"I could just ignore it," she shot back.

He didn't even hesitate to pull out his trump card, "Then I'd just throw you in hack and you'd have to miss the party."

"You wouldn't."

Lee just smiled and walked towards the path that led from the top of the hill to the tents at its foot. He was silently grateful that his knee was now properly healed. He doubted that he would have been able to manage walking down that slope with a bum knee and a cane.

"Would you?"

Kara ran up beside him just as he was about to step onto the path.

"You would?" Her disbelieving tone was adorable.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close as they walked down the hill.

"Try me."

That got him a laugh.

They walked through a section of tents that was not yet occupied.

It was nice for them to be like this.

Just walking together at a leisurely pace without having to worry about death coming at them from every corner had become a luxury for them. The very nature of their reality made it impossible to do things a normal couple would have done back when the Colonies still existed.

They both appreciated the opportunity, even if the sun shone a little too brightly, the stiff breeze made the chill worse, and that the stench of the latrines mingled with the sharp smell of wood smoke.

She looked over at him and he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, so he turned his head to see what she wanted.

The look of open adoration in his eyes caused her to shiver and caused an idea to pop into her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist from the side and quickly manhandled their bodies into one of the tents

"Kara. Wha-"

Lee's protests were cut off by Kara's lips, and despite his misgivings and worries of being caught because it was impossible to lock the tent flap, he immediately responded to the kiss.

"We should stop."

"Uh huh."

But neither of them moved to do so. Their tongues dueled as hands wandered and felt what had become the comfortably familiar terrain of their bodies, seeking out those spots that caused breaths to hitch and drove them closer to that delicious edge even though they were both still fully dressed in their uniforms.

The tent flap opened and a familiar voice suddenly cut into their reverie.

"Excuse me; you're not supposed to be-Commander! Captain!"

It was Dee, holding a clipboard and wearing a brand new officer's uniform.

"Ensign," Lee acknowledged her presence by quickly identifying her new rank from the pins in her collar.

They untangled themselves from each other and there was an awkward pause.

Lee finally said, "We'll get out, Ensign."

"Sirs." Dee got the hell out of there as quickly as she could.

It was just the two of them again, but they just stood there

"We…better get moving…you know. The ceremony."

"Yeah."

They straightened their clothes and made sure the other's appearance was passable before stepping out of the tent and into the sunlight.

Kara shot a look over her shoulder at where Dee was going about doing whatever she was supposed to do. "She looks like a little kid playing dress-up," Kara quipped.

"She talked about bucking for officer, but..." Lee really didn't feel like talking about his ex.

"C'mon." He put his arm around Kara's waist once again and they continued on their way to the grandstand.

* * *

Kara was bored. There was no doubt about it.

All those insipid speeches made by Baltar and his cronies just so that the President could take a shovel and scoop up some dirt.

Probably the first real thing the man did since taking office.

She fidgeted in her seat, wishing that she was anywhere but sitting in the front row because it made it impossible for her to sneak off to do something else.

A nap on a foam mattress unrolled on the deck of a Raptor was sounding really good at this point.

But she settled for leaning her head against Lee's shoulder and daydreaming instead.

Lee turned his head to look down at Kara struggling not to fall asleep. As much as he wanted to take her away from here, there was nothing he could do beyond taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, so he did exactly that.

The talking seemed to last forever, but Lee's fingers gently massaging her hand made the time go by much quicker now.

Before she knew it, people were clapping and cheering all around her.

Kara made a beeline for the open bar the moment the applause seemed to die down, dragging Lee behind, and grabbed a bottle and two glasses. She busied herself with reading the label on the bottle she held in her hands.

"Check it out." she turned the bottle so that Lee could see what she'd scored. "Premium hooch."

"Nice."

She poured themselves generous amounts of alcohol and handed him a glass. But instead of bringing it to his lips or raising it for a toast, Lee just stared at the amber liquid in his hands.

Kara was immediately curious, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Lee met her eyes. "It's just that I haven't had a drink in months."

He had also been off of his pain meds for just a few weeks. This was the first time in years that he wasn't taking or drinking something that would alter his senses one way or another and he kind of liked it.

Kara shrugged and raised her glass to her lips but paused when a thought struck her: she hadn't had a drink or a smoke in just as long as Lee. For once, her mind had been too busy focusing on the welfare of someone she deeply cared about instead of her own needs and how she was going to satisfy her vices.

"Aren't you going to drink?" Lee's voice brought her back to reality.

"No. It's been a while for me too," she took their glasses and poured the contents back into the bottle. "Let's see how it goes."

It was not as if alcohol was going to disappear. It was one of the few things they seemed to have plenty of.

* * *

Night fell as the celebrations continued in full swing.

They'd had to move quickly in order to get some of the last real Colonial meat anyone would ever taste. There were also samples of the local fauna available and they tried those too.

The flavors were somewhat familiar, but there was something different about them as well, although they couldn't exactly identify what it was.

They were sitting and digesting their meal at a table by a platform that had been set up for dancing when Kara suddenly jumped up and held her hand out to Lee.

"Let's dance."

"Dance?"

"It's the groundbreaking! The booze is flowing-for everyone else, at least-and the music's playing…and your knee's looking pretty good," he rolled his eyes at the smirk on her face.

"You're not going to let go of anything I say, will you?"

"Nope. I'm going to keep on reminding you of every stupid word that comes out of your mouth until the day we die. C'mon, Lee! What better way is there to celebrate than dancing the night away?"

"I can think of a few ways," he mumbled as he took Kara's proffered hand with a weak grin on his face.

* * *

Dancing was fun, even though neither of them knew what they were doing. There was a ragtag group of musicians who were playing their hearts out and the crowd on the dance floor happily moved with the music.

Eventually, the music stopped when the musicians couldn't go on anymore. Somebody turned on some recorded music. Slow songs to which the stragglers on the dance floor swayed to with their partners.

They joined in on the swaying, resting their tired bodies with their arms around each other.

After a while, Kara moved away and pulled Lee with her.

"I've got something I want to show you."

* * *

They walked quite a ways away from the settlement to an area filled with small plants with a natural clearing in the middle.

"Here we are," Kara said with a sweep of her arm. "I found this place a few weeks ago when I was flying in generators. What do you think?"

She'd then sneak off every opportunity she could whenever her services as a bus driver weren't needed while on the surface. It was a wonderful spot that was far away from any of the proposed development sights, and she'd been looking forward to the opportunity to show Lee her find.

"It's great."

"Yeah. It'd be a great place for a house."

"A house? So you want to settle down here."

Lee's tone was gentle and probing. Kara was slowly learning that not all questions posed to her warranted immediately lashing out at the questioner.

"Someday," her tone was almost wistful. "After things have gotten settled down around here."

"Okay. Give me a tour," he looked at her dead in the eye. "Of the brand new life of Kara Thrace."

"Well…"

He watched and smiled as Kara grew more and more enthusiastic in describing her new home. She moved energetically from imaginary room to imaginary room in the clearing, and it became obvious that she had put a lot of thought into this. He decided that if this was what she really wanted, he would make it happen.

Then-

"-and over here is where our bedroom would be."

Kara looked at Lee expectantly. This thought had been running through her mind for some time now. They were living together in his quarters on board the Pegasus, and if the day came that they would both move down to the surface, she wanted for them to do it together.

"A house for the both of us?" he asked as he stepped up to her.

She nodded without hesitation, "Yeah."

He gathered her in his arms and held her tight, his heart full to bursting.

Kara whispered in his ear, "I love you," finally giving a label to the emotions she'd been feeling ever since they began their relationship in earnest and for some time before that as well.

Lee pulled back so that they were looking at each other. There was a happily bewildered smile on his face as they looked deep into each other's eyes.

"I really do," she said.

His smile grew wider. "I always thought that I'd be the first to say it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I love you, Kara."

"I love you, too."

They closed the short distance between them and their lips met for a soft kiss full of passion.

Kara began to giggle against Lee's lips.

"What?"

"Declaring our love beneath the stars? Could we be any more clichéd?"

He had to agree that it was funny and decided to take it a step further, "We could shout it out to the sky."

That got her going and he followed soon after. They fell to the ground and rolled with bellies aching from their laughter.

Their bodies rolled towards each other and they bumped together, on their sides, facing each other. The laughter quickly died down, but their smiles remained as they stared into the other's eyes.

He tucked brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face as their lips ghosted against each other.

"Hey."

Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the night.

"Hey."

"Isn't this where we make love?" she asked as the brought up her finger to lightly trace his face.

"Here?" Despite his questioning tone, his hand was already traveling down her side, sending electricity sparking through her.

"Why not?"

She slung a leg over his hip and pushed their bodies so that she was lying on top of him.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Lee tried to memorize how Kara looked as she slept with her head resting in the crook of his shoulder and his arms around her. Her beautiful features relaxed and illuminated by the starlight of a brand new world.

She loved him.

She loved him.

That was the only thought running through his mind as he followed her into sleep while his hands gently slid up and down her bare back.

**What did you think? Good? Bad? God awful?**


	17. Chapter 17

**And they lived happily ever after…**

**As if.**

**You guys would track me down and show up at my door with pitchforks and torches. **

**On with the story!**

* * *

Lee awoke with a start when a cold breeze blew across his body.

The arm that had been wrapped around Kara as they slept was now resting against his stomach.

He was cold, naked, and alone.

He immediately sat up and quickly surveyed the area around him. She was no where to be seen.

'_Where'd she go?'_

Standing up didn't provide much of a better vantage point.

'_She didn't panic and run, did she?'_

He spun around.

'_Would she?'_

Kara couldn't be seen in any direction.

He forced himself to tamp down his rising fears and bent down to gather his clothes. He pulled on his pants, laced up his boots and began walking back towards the settlement, pulling on his tanks and draping his jacket over his shoulders as he lightly jogged.

Reaching the first few tents, one of the first people he saw was his father. He slowed his pace to a walk to avoid giving the impression that anything was wrong.

He called out, "Morning, Admiral."

"Hey. Look at you," Adama replied. His tone had a lightness to it that Lee had rarely heard while growing up. "Looks like you had fun at the party last night."

The admiral ripped a piece off of the loaf of bread he had with him and put it in his mouth. "You missed all the excitement."

"Problems upstairs?" Lee had no idea why he looked up just then, but he did.

"No. Nothing like that. It's been a while since Saul and I got into a bar fight together."

Lee groaned, "Dad." For the first time in years, he was the son embarrassed by his father's actions, but before he could say anything more, his nose caught the whiff of something odd.

Adama noticed the change in Lee's expression. "What?"

Lee sniffed. "You smell like…smoke…" A couple more sniffs and the smell was becoming familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"There are open fires all over the place, son." That lightness was gone and was replaced by barely hidden embarrassment as the old man swallowed hard the piece of bread in his mouth.

"No, it's not wood smoke…did you-?" realization dawned and Lee's expression turned into a mixture of embarrassment and horror.

Adama refused to meet his son's eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Lee."

"Yeah…have you seen Kara around?"

They were both grateful for the change in subject and for the chance to get away from each other for the moment.

"I saw her over by the kitchens they have set up, talking with that Anders fellow."

"Okay. Thanks, Dad."

Lee walked off as quickly as he could without attracting attention.

'_What the hell is going on?'_

* * *

Kara happily tucked the package of food and the thermos she'd managed to barter for under her arm and walked out of the food prep area. She blinked as a strand of hair blew into her eyes. It was a fairly windy morning and her hair was blowing all over the place since she lost her tie during last night's dancing. She shivered as the wind blew open her unbuttoned jacket and chilled her through her tanks.

A voice dripping with the tell tale signs of heavy drinking suddenly called out to her, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Kara."

She closed her eyes, and took a breath before turning to see the source of that familiar voice stumbling towards her.

He looked like a mess with his red rimmed eyes and slumped shoulders. His clothes were disheveled, his hair was matted and had seemingly been uncut for months, and the stubble she'd once thought attractive now just looked disgusting. It was obvious that he'd been drinking heavily last night. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, as well as stale tobacco and gods knew what else.

'_Dear lords, is that what I was like all those mornings after?'_

"Hey, Sam."

"I saw you dancing with that Adama guy last night."

"Yeah?"

"You looked really happy with him."

"I am happy with him."

"Do you think you could be that happy with me?"

Kara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She thought she'd made it clear that day on Pegasus.

This had to end.

For good.

"Listen. Whatever it was that we had on Caprica? It's over. I'm sorry, but there's nothing here anymore."

She waved a hand in the space between them to emphasize her point. "And the more I think about it, there never really was anything there to begin with."

She began stalking off before whipping back to answer Sam's question.

"And, no. I don't think I could be that happy with you. Because Lee's always been the one for me. And it's Captain Thrace from now on. You got that, Mr. Anders?"

She didn't bother to hear what he had to say, and all thoughts of Sam Anders retreated to the back of her head when she saw the man she loved walking down the street (if it could be called that) towards her, buttoning up his jacket. Lee hadn't seen her yet, but she could see that his eyes were scanning the crowd, presumably looking for her.

She kept on walking and looking at him, waiting for Lee's eyes to settle on her.

And how he smiled when he saw her. He finished the last button and quickly jogged the distance between them and she did the same, her open jacket flapping in the wind.

He immediately cupped her face and gave her a sweet kiss.

"Hey."

"Hey…I was hoping that you'd still be asleep when I got back."

The smell of food wafted from the paper package he saw and caused his stomach to growl. He smiled even wider and now realized why she'd run off without telling him.

"You were going to bring me breakfast?"

Kara blushed slightly. She never did anything like this, and wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing it.

"Yeah. I got this stuff off of some galley workers from one of the space liners. Traded that bottle from last night. And…" she reached under her arm to pull out the thermos. "I swiped this when they weren't looking."

He chuckled, "What's in it?"

She looked around at the crowd milling about. There were too many people to show him without attracting unwanted attention. "Not here. Let's head back to the Raptor and eat there."

"Okay…here, let me take that."

Lee reached out and took the food and thermos from Kara. She smiled gratefully back at him. This gave her the chance to button up her own jacket so that she wouldn't be as chilly.

He casually draped his arm around her shoulders and they walked towards the landing site. He could feel that something was off with Kara, even through the layers of clothing.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really. Anders came up to me hungover and asking about before...and...I just hope the guy can take a hint and move on"

"I see." He couldn't help but sympathize with the man, though. Kara was absolutely intoxicating and once you were hooked it was almost impossible to give her up. But she was with him now, and Anders would be a wise man to stay away.

"What's up with you?" she asked. She had noticed that there was a slight strain in his voice and was almost afraid that it was because of her running off without a note.

But his answer surprised her, "I think my dad got stoned last night."

Her laughter sounded heavenly.

* * *

They ate while sitting in the open hatch of their Raptor, looking down at the settlement and the smoke rising from various cook fires.

Breakfast was bread, cheese, and a few strips of bacon. The real kind and not the soy substitute that they rationed out so carefully on the battlestars. How well did some of those civilians live.

But the most welcome surprise was the contents of the thermos Kara had stolen. Inside was real, hot, properly brewed coffee. It was almost too much after they'd gotten used to drinking weak, watery stuff made from reused grounds to save what they had left.

The food and coffee disappeared quickly, even though they tried to make it last, and then they sat in the Raptor's hatch simply digesting and enjoying each other's company.

Kara leaned her head against Lee's shoulder. She felt the sudden urge to make a confession, and this seemed like the perfect time and place to do it.

"I think it's always been you, Lee." She could feel his head turning to look at her. "From the day we met at the academy. Every man I've been with looked like you."

"Even that night with Baltar." His shoulder flinched under her head as he stiffened at the memory. "I was so drunk that I thought I was leaving with you. It was your name that I called out…"

Lee slowly relaxed when he heard that. Hearing Kara tell him that she had feelings for him for almost as long as he had made all those years of pining worth it, and made him want to make a confession as well.

"I'm the same. Every woman I dated or slept with resembled you...I think I was with Dee only because she is as different from you as anyone possibly could be."

He snorted almost silently and shook his head at the thought, "We're just completely fraked up, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but we're perfect together."

They lapsed into silence again. They shifted and molded themselves against each other until they were lying down and cuddling on the deck of the Raptor.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" Lee spoke into Kara's forehead. "That you want a house at that spot?"

She shifted her head slightly, letting her soft skin slide across his lips. "Yeah, eventually. Why?"

"I was thinking that we could stake a claim."

"That's a good idea. But for now, I'm fine with the rack we've got upstairs."

Lee leaned in to kiss Kara, just because he felt like it. They were together, and in a roundabout way, they'd just acknowledged that they would be that way for a very very long time.

"Earth's still out there..." Lee breathed once their lips eventually parted.

Kara snuggled closer into his chest. "And we'll find it someday, and some people will settle there as well. Maybe even us."

"But what about the house here?"

"Don't act stupid, Lee. We'll use Pegasus to jump back and forth whenever we get the chance," she said it as if it was the most matter of fact thing in the galaxy. "I always wondered what it'd be like to have two homes."

He laughed at the thought. Using a capital ship as a family camper for vacations sounded so thoroughly decadent in their utilitarian reality that it was almost too perfect.

'_Family camper. I like the sound of that.'_

"Let's head back." There was still a large chunk of Pegasus' crew that was itching for shore leave, and he wanted to relieve the command element that had to stay behind the day before.

"Yeah."

They stood up and Kara asked, "You want to fly us out of here?"

"Sure."

* * *

**One year later…**

* * *

Changes were inevitable, Lee supposed.

In the wake of the ground breaking ceremony, over a third of his crew requested that they be relieved of their duties so that they could settle on New Caprica, and he couldn't really begrudge them of their requests.

Changes were made to the Pegasus Roster.

Kara earned her majority and stepped into the role of Pegasus' CAG with ease.

And Lee had a new XO as well. Lewis was even younger than he was, and eager to prove that he could be more than just someone who fell into the role out of necessity. This led to some awkward moments, because according to the organization chart Kara, a major, was supposed to report to Lewis, a captain.

It had been a giddy few months. Kara and Lee eagerly visited the planet every few weeks, ostensibly on supply runs, but really used the trips as an opportunity to see how the settlement was expanding.

They always took a tent and sleeping bags out to their spot to spend the night, setting up camp in the dying light of the sun and moving the property stakes Lee had fashioned in or out depending on Kara's mood that day. They made love by the light of their campfire before crawling into the tent to sleep, happy in the knowledge that their lives really were going somewhere.

The next morning, they would invariably end up laughingly moving the stakes again after Kara saw what she removed from or added onto their property before packing up to head back to the sky.

It was supposed to be a brand new beginning for everyone, but suddenly it seemed as if they had hit a very big dead end instead.

Evenually, a year passed since ground had been broken for the first real permanent structure on New Caprica, but the initial enthusiasm had quickly petered out for reasons unknown.

Just the wooden frames of the proposed Quorum Building and a few private homes still stood, slowly falling apart in the planet's cold, damp climate. And it seemed as if those wouldn't be standing for much longer, because people who didn't want to walk into the forests to chop down a tree would take parts of the frames for firewood.

The would-be rock quarry and lumber yard stood pitifully abandoned; their equipment laying forgotten and exposed to the elements.

It seemed as if most of the people who lived on the surface sat around listlessly for the most part, unable or unwilling to work. They bartered their few meager possessions in the market for things they needed, and if it wasn't for the fact that food was still being rationed out instead of having to be purchased, it was possible they would have simply let themselves starve to death.

Kara and Lee's visits to the surface became more and more infrequent as it became clear that nothing was really changing, and Lee accompanied Kara only when it was her turn to make the weekly donut run and they only stayed as long as necessary before heading back.

* * *

"What are we doing here, Lee?" Kara asked early one morning as they lay in bed aboard Pegasus.

"Hmm?" Lee mumbled, still half asleep.

She sat up in bed and leaned against the bulkhead, jostling Lee into consciousness.

"Wha-?"

He sat up himself, not completely sure about what was going on. But he knew from experience that this was probably going to be the sort of rant where he needed to hunker down and wait for the worst to blow over.

"It's been over a year and the only permanent structures down there are the latrines and the gods damned pyramid court! That was the first thing they built! The court!"

Back on Caprica, it had been endearing to hear how Anders considered a pyramid court a necessity. Now it just seemed idiotic.

"This was supposed to be a new beginning, wasn't it?" Kara added quietly, having lost steam unusually quickly. She felt completely defeated right now. "I mean. Every time we go down there now, all I see is one big step back. And I was kinda hoping that we could leave all this behind and start a new life together."

Lee's thoughts briefly wandered to the ring he had hidden in a small drawstring pouch. He'd tracked down the jeweler who'd made his father's rank insignia and traded some of the antibiotics that he kept hoarded for his pilots in exchange for her services. But this definitely wasn't the time to be proposing.

So he decided to take a different tack and pulled Kara against him.

"Earth's still out there, you know," he said, recalling the conversation they'd had a year earlier.

"Doesn't look as if we'll be heading out to find it anytime soon."

"Doesn't matter. I'll just gather all the crew who want to leave, kick off those who don't, and we'll take Pegasus off on our own."

Kara looked at him as if he was insane, and he took some umbrage at that.

"Hey, I've mutinied once. I'm sure I can do it again."

"You wouldn't," Kara chuckled incredulously.

"For you, I'd do anything."

That sobered the mood quickly, and Kara looked into Lee's eyes with a look full of passion.

"I know…I love you."

"I love you, too."

Their lips met in a heated kiss and just as his hand was about to come up and cup her breast, klaxons began blaring.

"_Action stations. Action stations. Set Condition One throughout the ship. Action stations. Action stations. Set Condition One throughout the ship._"

Lee immediately got up to dress and Kara was right behind him, but he tried to wave her back under the blanket.

"Go back to bed. It's probably just another sensor ghost on the DRADIS."

Kara just shrugged and reached into her locker for her own duty uniform. She wanted to be there for when Lee chewed out Lewis for the umpteenth time so that she could add her two cubits worth for his ruining the mood.

* * *

"This better not be another false alarm, Captain," Lee said loudly as the entrance to CIC rotated shut behind him.

The young man looked at his CO with a slightly panicked look on his face. "Sir, it's real this time."

Lee squinted at the flickering display, resisting the urge to laugh when he heard Kara softly mutter, "That's what you said last time."

But that urge was immediately quashed as he made out a sizeable Cylon battle fleet on the DRADIS display.

"Ship status?" Lee snapped, all business. Kara immediately shifted into gear as well.

Hoshi called out as he pressed one hand against the headset he wore, "Stations are just beginning to check in, sir."

'_Fraking A._' Lee silently cursed himself. Not only was his ship not fully crewed, those that were on board were now rusty with proper procedures on what to do in case of an attack, and it was his fault for letting things go slack.

"Admiral Adama on the line, sir."

He grabbed a handset. "This is Pegasus Actual, go ahead Galactica."

"_Are you seeing this?_"

"Yes, sir. I recommend that we get every ship in orbit out of here and jump out with them."

"_We just can't leave all those people behind._"

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice, Admiral. It's taking us forever just to get to action stations over here."

"_Alright. Ready your ship to jump. But we're coming back._"

"Yes sir."

Lee placed the handset in its cradle and looked around CIC.

"Mr. Hoshi, begin jump prep to emergency coordinates."

"Yes, sir. Beginning jump prep!"

Lewis nervously piped up, "Commander? The basestars are launching Raiders!"

Lee walked around the chart table and kept his eyes on every display but the DRADIS, watching as each system was checked off in preparation for the jump. "Ignore them, Captain Lewis."

Finally the last system checked green and Hoshi said, "Jump prep complete. The ship is ready in all respects, sir."

Lee stopped at Kara's side. He locked eyes with her, grabbed her hand, and gave the order, "Jump!"

* * *

**Whew! This got way longer than I expected. So tell me what you think, everyone!**

_And on a personal note, I hate stubble and I don't get people (male and female) who do. _

_So to all you men out there: either grow it out or shave it off, because you just look like a lazy little bum if you don't._

_But that's just me ranting._

**Reviews, por favor.**


	18. Chapter 18

"Bucket Contact."

That was a phrase often heard in Pegasus' CIC as Galactica drifted in and out of DRADIS range.

His father was brooding, there was no doubt about that in Lee's mind as he looked at the various displays in front of him. It had been like that for a month and a half since the battlestars and their significantly reduced fleet fled the Cylon armada over New Caprica.

Communication between the battlestars was reduced to brief text transmissions that were essentially short messages reassuring the other that they were indeed still around. Lee had no idea what his father was doing out there and nothing he did seemed to get the admiral to break the silence. Indeed, the few Raptors he'd sent out to see what was going on were always sent back with stern warnings, and he knew better than to tr his father's temper at a time like this.

Hoshi's voice suddenly broke through his thoughts. "Sir, Starbuck is calling in to say that things are all clear."

Lee just nodded and didn't bother to give a verbal answer.

* * *

"Pegasus. Starbuck. It's all quiet out here, nothing to report." 

"_Acknowledged, Starbuck._"

Kara hoped that the boredom in her voice couldn't be heard through the distortion of the wireless. It felt wrong to be bored at a time like this. They'd barely escaped the Cylons when they showed up with no warning, and most of the ships-battlestars included-were barely flying with just enough personnel to keep them spaceworthy.

Hell, between the two air groups, there were barely enough pilots to make a decent squadron to go up against gods knew how many Raiders if and when in came time to return to New Caprica.

Yet she still felt bored.

After over a year of flying uneventful CAPs and repetitive training missions, Kara was itching for a chance to go head to head with a Raider or three.

She fired her RCS thrusters and made a turn to fly towards the rear of the fleet. Somewhere in the distance off her starboard wing, Galactica was out there doing her own little thing.

She could only assume that the admiral was drafting a battle plan and was keeping it under wraps for security reasons. But that was what she thought she knew.

No one knew much of anything right now.

No one knew if the people on New Caprica were even still alive. The Raptors the admiral sent out to float high in New Caprica's orbit didn't pick up anything from the radio that had been hidden beneath the surface for just in case the Cylons returned. And knowing their enemy, the horrifying possibility of a second genocide was continuing to be a likely one.

Shaking those thoughts from her head, Kara made another turn and checked her watch. By her mental calculations, she had four more circuits to go before the next CAP came out to relieve them.

* * *

Despite the gravity of the current situation, Lee couldn't help but feel that the days were beginning to blend into each other. Sometimes, his dreams were so vividly mundane, there were mornings when he couldn't tell if he was waking up or still asleep. 

The walk from CIC to the quarters he shared with Kara at the end of every duty shift was starting to become interminable, and there were days when he wondered why he even bothered leaving either of those places, only to find that when that thought ended, he was barely halfway between the two points.

He sighed and reached into his pocket to make sure that the drawstring pouch containing the ring was still there.

It had become his personal worry stone in recent days; a comfort object for whenever Kara wasn't in visual range and he needed a reminder that he had something to live for. He had been trying to find a way to propose but couldn't find a way that didn't seem completely crass or inappropriate in these particularly lean times.

As his mind brooded over how to ask the woman he loved to be his wife, Lee's legs automatically moved him through the familiar corridors.

Minding to take his hand out of his pocket and making sure that the pouch wasn't peeking out, he turned the hatch handle and let himself in.

Kara was already inside, freshly showered and dressed in sweats, flipping through a stack of reports while seated on the couch with one socked foot propped on the coffee table.

"Hey," she said, looking up from her paperwork.

"Hey," he replied, dogging the hatch.

"How was CAP?"

"Boring."

Kara shifted to make room on the couch when Lee sat down next to her. Her tone was disdainful as she tossed the reports onto the coffee table. "We can probably recycle these forms and just change the dates tomorrow."

"How was CIC?"

"Pretty much the same."

"Any 'Bucket Contacts'?"

"Three."

There was a weekly pool among the crew to see who could most accurately guess the number of times Galactica would show up on DRADIS, with cigarettes being the preferred form of payment. They'd become a valuable source of currency and many people quit smoking because of the increased trading value.

"Still no word from your dad?"

Lee laid his head against Kara's shoulder with a sight at that question; she twisted her body on the couch to properly hold him, with his head tucked under her chin, and her hands almost unconsciously came up to stroke his hair. Although he hid it well from most people, it was obvious to Kara that Lee was hurt at being left out of the loop by his own father, especially since they'd gotten closer than they'd ever been during that year in orbit.

"Hey...let's eat. No use in worrying on an empty stomach."

It was an oft-used phrase, and Kara was surprised at how easily it came from her lips, but she had good reason to use it. Lee was beginning to look gaunt again after spending all those months in physical therapy rebuilding lost muscle mass.

She felt his head nod under her chin before he pushed himself back up into a sitting position and she sat up herself.

There were two meal packs on the coffee table. They'd begun eating field rations after the fresh stuff from the small farms that actually produced something on New Caprica ran out.

Kara grabbed the packages and held them out to Lee with the labels facing downwards.

"You get first pick."

He briefly considered his options before taking one out of her hands.

"What'd you get?" Kara asked.

Lee flipped his meal over and read the label, "Beef stew. You?"

"Vegetarian chili with macaroni." Kara made a face at that.

She was a meat eater. Vegetables only entered into her diet if they were included in a burger.

"Half and half?" she pleaded.

That got her a small smile. "Sure."

She got up to grab the plates and proper utensils they kept in their quarters for an unknown reason, while he ripped open the packages and used the flameless ration heaters to begin warming up their meals.

They ate in silence. Not uncomfortable silence, but silence.

Kara took the time to muse at how the dynamic had changed between them in recent times. For so long, it had been Lee working to cheer her up and supporting her through all her screw ups, but now he was leaning on her for support, and she fell into that role as easily as she did as his caretaker after his accident.

She was somehow tapping into an emotional reserve that she thought she didn't have, and the thought that she had nurturing instincts somehow didn't scare her as the possibility that she did have them them once did.

Leave it to Lee to help her like this even as he was turning into a mess.

The food was gone quickly, and Lee got up to wash the plates and utensils in the head and Kara leaned forward to pick up the reports she abandoned when a flash of purple dangling from Lee's pocket caught her eye.

A smile slowly spread across her face.

"What's that?" she called out.

He turned halfway towards her, "What?"

"That cloth sticking out of your pocket."

Upon seeing his face go red and hearing his softly muttered, "Shit," Kara thought she had an opening. Teasing him about something always seemed to get Lee out of a funk and nearl-instantly restarted the banter that they usually shared.

"Oh, c'mon, Lee. What is it?"

"It's...nothing."

Lee quickly headed to the head and dumped his cargo into the sink before he quickly tried to shove the offending cloth deep into his pocket.

"Oh I'm sure it's something."

He could see her leaning against the head's entrance through the reflection in the mirror, and he knew that everything would be coming out tonight. He just hoped that the outcome would be what he often dreamed about.

"Let's see it."

Kara reached towards Lee's pocket, but he twisted his body so that only her finger tips caught the purple cloth. That was enough to get it to fall to the deck with a soft 'clunk' that told her that something was inside the now-revealed drawstring pouch.

Both of their hands shot out to grab it, but being slightly shorter, she was able to get to it faster, and she ran out of the head with a laugh.

"Alright...let's see what Lee Adama finds so embarrassing that he wants to hide it from me."

The potential blackmail possibilities ran through her mind as she loosened the drawstring and poured the contents into her palm.

Those possibilities bid a quick retreat and were replaced with new ones when she saw it the pouch had contained.

It was a silver ring. Instead of being a solid band or containing a stone, the metal was split at one end and twisted around a miniature set of golden pilot wings. Just holding it in her palm, she knew that it would be a perfect fit for her ring finger.

"I...took some titanium off of a scrapped Viper engine cowling and took it down to a jeweler on New Caprica almost ten months ago. Don't know where she got the gold from."

Kara's head shot up at the sound of Lee's voice. She had been sucked into her own little world for a moment. There was very little room for doubt as to why Lee had gotten this ring made.

Lee tentatively stepped towards her as she stood unmoving in the middle of the living area. "I've been trying to find a way to ask you for a while now."

Kara's mouth twitched at the corners as she asked in a trembling voice, "Well...aren't you...going to...ask me?"

His mouth twitched slightly as well, and he took the ring from her hand and he kneeled before her.

Lee fought hard to keep his voice steady as he asked the question that had been haunting him for months, "Kara Thrace, will you do me the honor of letting me spend the rest of my life with you as your husband?"

"Yes," she breathed.

He grasped her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger so that the wings pointed inwards, toward her heart. Their hands shook with emotion and her tear blurred vision made it impossible to see that his eyes were misty as well.

Lee slowly stood up and for a moment time seemed to stop.

Then their arms wrapped around each other like steel bands and never letting go seemed like a wonderful idea.

"I love you I love you I love you…" she rained kisses against his neck, his jaw, anywhere her lips could reach.

She could taste the saltiness of his tears and she was sure that he could taste hers as his lips moved against every bit of exposed skin he could find.

She tried to tease him, "I'm going to tell everyone you cried."

"I don't care."

She let out a sobbing laugh and buried her face into his shoulder and he pressed his nose against her hair.

They just stood there, laughing and crying, looking forward to this next completely natural progression in their relationship.

* * *

**What'd you think?**

**Anyone care to speculate as to what comes next? **

**Bragging rights to the reviewer(s) who guesses the closest!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A short one today. **

**Congratulations to maclau and PenguinGoddess who both guessed (in part, at least) correctly.**

* * *

The call Lee had been waiting months for came in the middle of the night.

"Adama," he sleepily mumbled into the receiver as Kara stirred beside him.

"_Sir,_" it was the Officer of the Deck. "_Galactica just popped back onto our screens and it appears as if she's heading back to rejoin the fleet._"

Lee rubbed a hand over his face as he began to awake fully. "ETA?"

"_If she maintains her current speed, approximately three hours, sir. And we received a transmission from Galactica as well, sir. Message reads:_ Presence requested for urgent meeting. _Message ends._"

This was good. They were finally going somewhere. But if word got out…he really didn't need the rumor mill running right now.

"Does anyone else know about this message?"

"_Just the two of us, sir_."

"Let's keep it that way for now."

"_Yes, sir_."

"Send a reply. Message begins: Acknowledging receipt of message. Stop. Will be waiting. Stop. Message ends. Got that?"

"_Got it, sir_."

"Unless something happens or changes, call me again in two hours and have a Raptor prepped to takeoff the minute Galactica rejoins us."

"_Yes, sir_."

Lee hung up the phone and lay back down.

Kara settled herself against him and pulled the blanket back over their bodies. "What's going on?"

He took a breath. "Galactica's coming back."

She spoke into his chest as she fell back asleep, "That's good."

"Yeah," he said while staring at the deckhead.

Sleep wasn't coming easily for Lee, though.

'_What the hell does Dad have planned?'_

Lee abruptly sat up to Kara's annoyed groan and grabbed the phone.

"This is the Commander. Disregard my previous orders and have a Raptor prepped for takeoff immediately."

* * *

Lee was brooding as he sat in the Raptor cockpit and fed numbers into the craft's navigational computer and waited for the necessary calculations to be made.

The machine beeped to tell him that the jump was plotted and he toggled the appropriate switches to power up the FTL drive.

Kara had wanted to go with him, but he insisted that he was going to make this trip alone. Although he couldn't come up with a good reason as to why this was to be, something in his eyes made her unusually acquiescent this time.

The FTL began to hum and the displays before him showed that everything was in the green, so Lee sat back in his seat, pressed the button to jump…

…and saw Galactica's bow looming large before him an instant later.

That ought to have startled a few souls in Galactica's CIC.

He keyed open his wireless and broadcast, "Raptor 172 to Galactica tower. Requesting permission to land."

There was no initial reply. Lee assumed that the LSO on duty, if there was one, was conferring with someone higher up.

Then: "_Raptor 172. Permission granted for hands-on approach. Checker's green. Call the ball_."

"Roger."

* * *

There had been a single air crew waiting to receive him when his Raptor was brought down into the hangar bay, obviously having been just woken up expressly for his arrival.

Galactica seemed even emptier than Pegasus was, if that was even possible, and she had fallen into a state of deeper disrepair than her sister ship. Every other light in the corridors was either turned off or unscrewed from its socket to conserve power, and of the lights that were on, some were flickering badly.

Lee's footsteps almost seemed to echo as he made his way through the familiar corridors to his father's quarters, relying more on memory than his sight to guide him.

He knocked on his father's hatch and waited for the muffled "Come in," before entering.

Adama was sitting on the bench seating in one corner of his quarters, dressed in a uniform that appeared to have been slept in for days on end. In his hands, he held a folder containing papers of some kind.

"Have a seat, Lee," he said, motioning towards the chair across from him.

Lee stepped towards his father and asked, "What's going on, Dad?"

"Take a look at this. We've been working on a plan to go back to New Caprica and get our people on the ground out of there. It's almost finalized and I just wanted your opinion on it."

We?

It was glaringly obvious that this meant his father and Galactica's crew. He wasn't being included in this.

Since when had he become an outsider in planning military operations?

He sat down and took the folder from his father's hands. Judging from the number of pages, this was going to be a fairly detailed plan with every minute accounted for.

Adama spoke over the sound of flipping paper, "I had the air element planned out months ago and the pilots have been practicing it nonstop. The ground element only began to come together when Racetrack finally received a transmission from the surface last month. There's an active resistance movement that's been working to undermine the Cylon occupation."

"You made contact last month? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Security."

"Security?" Lee snorted in a softly derisive laugh. "If you can't trust me, then who can you trust around here?"

He flipped through a few more pages and asked while reading, "How do you know if you've actually made contact with people on the surface and that the Cylons haven't found the wireless?"

Instead of answering, Adama just silently watched as his son's expression change as Lee continued to read his battle plan. The angrily bewildered look on the younger man's face when he looked up to face him told him that he had reached the part that relied entirely on the efforts of the Cylon they kept in a holding cell down below.

Adama answered Lee's unspoken question, "That's why I didn't tell you about this plan until now."

But his son gave voice to it anyway. "Are you fraking serious?"

"Yes."

Lee shot up to his feet, his body tense with anger.

"Nine months, Dad," he began pacing in the small space between the bench seating and the chair he had been sitting in. "Nine months with nothing but those short text transmissions…and then you suddenly decide to tell me that you're planning to go off on a suicide mission that pretty much relies on your trust in a Cylon!"

He spat that last word out as if it left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. And indeed, it almost seemed like it did.

Adama just calmly replied, "She has a name, you know."

"Fine. You're placing your trust in a copy of the Sharon Valerii that tried to kill you."

"It's Sharon Agathon now," Adama pointed out.

This day was getting better and better, and it was barely even 0300. "Right."

Adama spoke quietly, "Look over the plan. Tell me what you think."

"Why even bother showing me this?" Lee shook the folder in front of his father's nose. "I bet you're going to go through with this no matter what I say."

"Lee…" Adama's tone was almost pleading. He was exhausted and in no shape to put up an argument with his angry son.

"Fine," Lee said through gritted teeth. "If there's nothing more, I'll be on my way, Admiral."

Lee stalked out. He yanked the hatch as hard as he could, almost wrenching his arm in a petty attempt at slamming it behind him.

After a minute of sadly staring at his closed hatch, Adama walked over to his desk and pulled out a message dated seven and a half months ago. The paper was becoming worn after having been handled so many times.

He'd meant to talk with Lee about it, but the moment escaped them, as it had a tendency to do in their relationship.

It read: _Proposed to Kara last night. She said yes._


	20. Chapter 20

**ddt73 pointed out a bit of a problem I had towards the end of this installment. Turned out that I hadn't saved the changes I made to the original Word file, so I went back and fixed it. Thanks for telling me.**

* * *

It was a week before Lee could even look at the folder containing the battle plan without balking in anger.

So Kara looked through it instead whenever he wasn't around, focusing primarily on the air element because ground combat wasn't her forte. And reading what the old man had planned made her often look up and blink at the bulkhead in surprise.

The Admiral had prized her for her out of the box thinking, but the man obviously never really needed her help in devising crazy plans. He was intending to pull a stunt with Galactica that she wouldn't have even considered doing in a Viper.

Never would she have even thought of putting so many lives at risk.

She watched as Lee finally read through his father's plan, peeking over from her own paperwork and hearing the scratching of his pen as he made notes here and there.

Lee was often over on Galactica, sometimes for days at a time, to help with the final preparations for the ship's return to New Caprica.

Every time he faced his father, the son and the officer in him were constantly at war, and he was simultaneously proud and disappointed in how the officer always won in this conflict.

It was always business and he couldn't find a way to talk with his father about more personal matters; mainly his engagement to Kara.

Then all too soon, the time for Galactica to depart finally came.

* * *

The Raptor ride from Galactica to Pegasus was quiet.

Kara and Lee sat in the two fold down jump seats in the back, across from each other.

Lee sat with his shoulders hunched and eyes looking straight at his boots while Kara sat looking at Lee.

The goodbye ceremony on Galactica's hangar deck had been emotional for everyone, but Adama had taken Lee taken to the side so that they could say their own private goodbyes, and Lee came back with the muscles in his jaw twitching with barely contained emotion.

And when the admiral called everyone to attention to announce Lee's departure, even looking at his back from inside the Raptor, she could see the extreme sadness in her fiancé as he raised his hand in a slow salute.

She reached across from her jump seat to grasp his hand.

He absently rubbed his thumb along the backs of her fingers, and he let out a long breath through his nose when he felt her ring.

Blue eyes met hazel and Lee gave Kara a fake smile to try and show her he was okay.

His father had told him that he would be back.

Told him that it would take more than a Cylon fleet to keep him from seeing his son get married.

* * *

It was obvious Lee wanted to go after Galactica.

Lee had always kept his emotions close to the surface, and Kara loved him for it, because he showed her that showing others how she felt wasn't a sign of weakness. 

And after over two years together, Kara could read him like a book. 

They were sitting in their quarters in complete and tense silence. He wasn't doing much to conceal his nervously bouncing leg and how he looked at his watch every few minutes to see how far into the mission Galactica was.

The minutes ticked by, and with her knowledge of the plan, Kara knew the window for Lee to make a decision was rapidly closing.

Then he finally stood up and smoothed down his uniform.

She looked up from her chair.

"Yeah?"

"I've got to go after him."

She fought down a smile.

It was wrong to feel this good at such a moment.

* * *

The crew of Pegasus worked quickly to unload all unnecessary personnel onto other ships in the small fleet. 

Lee wanted nearly everyone off the battlestar because there was the chance that this would be a one way trip and he wanted to take as few people along with him in case they were going to die.

There would only be just enough crew in CIC to run all the systems and a small group of snipes in engineering to keep the engines and FTL running.

Other than that, every plane (with the exception of a couple of Raptors) and soul aboard would be off-ship when they jumped.

Lee walked into the hangar bay to see off the last of his planes and he wasn't surprised to see Kara in the middle of the deck supervising the loading of the Raptors while still dressed in her blue duty uniform. He'd prepared a fallback plan in case this happened.

"Commander on deck!" somebody yelled.

He quickly called out before anyone had a chance to stand up and salute, "As you were!"

They needed to move fast and that sort of thing would just slow them down.

He moved to stand beside Kara. "How's everything going?"

"We just need to get these Raptors onto the lifts and that'll be it." Even as she spoke, the few deckhands who had volunteered to stay behind were using trolleys to pull the planes onto the lifts at the edge of the hangar bay.

He spoke softly, wanting to see if she'd listen to him just this one time, "You should get changed and into your Viper."

But she didn't. "I'm coming with you, Lee."

"Commander?" a voice called from the only Raptor with its hatch open. It was Hammerhead, the DCAG. "We're waiting."

Kara's head whipped back towards Lee and her eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

He looked at her straight in the eye, "The last spot on that Raptor is yours."

"Like hell it is," she snapped. "I'm going with you."

"No, you're not."

Her tone was dripping with the challenge, "Make me."

"Kara...If this turns out to be a one way trip...I don't trust anyone else-"

"Don't," she hissed, cutting him off. 

Kara grabbed Lee's arm and they walked to the far end of the hangar bay out of earshot. "Do you know how many times I've almost lost you? I'm not going to go through that again."

Lee opened his mouth to try and speak, but she kept on talking.

"It took us so long to get to where we are, Lee. I love you and I'm not going to lose you for real."

Kara tightly wrapped her arms around Lee's neck, intent on showing him that she wasn't going to leave and that he better accept it quickly. He hesitated for a moment before bringing his arms up around her as well.

She let herself relax against him, knowing that they were together in this undertaking, but his shoulder suddenly dropped and she felt a sharp jab in her buttock.

Lee's eyes were full of sadness as Kara jerked back to look at him in shock and betrayal.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, pulling the hypodermic needle out of her body and tossing the used syringe to the side.

She fought against the encroaching darkness, "Lee..."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't…Please…don't leave me."

Lee pulled her closer to him as her legs began to give out. "I'll see you in a little bit, Kara. I love you."

Her hazel eyes grew dull and her eyelids drooped as the sedative took total hold.

"…love…you…" she managed to reply before she completely lost consciousness.

Lee gently scooped her limp weight into his arms and carried her over to Hammerhead's Raptor.

Laying her down onto the neck, he kissed her forehead one last time before stepping back to let the hatch hiss shut.

He watched as the heavy duty lift holding the Raptor rose up into the open section of the deckhead above them and waited to hear the telltale noise of the airlock cycling.

He wiped the lone tear that fell from his eye before turning to jog out of the now empty hangar.

* * *

Lee entered CIC and snapped, "XO?"

Lewis stood at attention and said, "The last Raptor is away, sir. All weapons are on standby and jump prep is complete."

Lee took a moment to look at his crew. There was a chance that he was going to lead them all to their deaths, but they met his gaze with steely ones of their own.

They were all in this to the end.

So Lee leaned forward and laid his palms flat on the chart table before giving the order everyone was waiting to hear.

"Jump."

* * *

**This chapter was a difficult one for me to write, and I'd appreciate it if I could get some constructive feedback.**

**Bonus points to the reviewer(s) who can identify the the trademark line I used and the character I got it from (hint: it's not from BSG and the character is very old).**


	21. Chapter 21

**No one got the last challenge (Sorry, twinx. Good guess, though). My fault, really. I shouldn't have used something as obscure as Doctor Who as a reference.**

**Anyhoo…for those of you who are wondering: Hammerhead is an ECO as well as DCAG. ECMOs are actually senior to pilots in real life electronic attack squadrons.**

* * *

Kara slowly regained consciousness.

Through the drug-addled fog of her mind, she realized by feel more than by sight that she was lying on the cold deck of a Raptor. Soft voices were talking around her, but the buzzing in her ears made it hard for her to understand what the conversation was about.

She slowly placed her palms flat on the deck and struggled to push herself up into a sitting position with shaky arms. The cheek that had been resting on the deck suddenly felt cooler than the rest of her body, and it was only then that she realized that she must have been drooling.

Someone lay their hands on her to help her sit up, Kara tried to smack them back, but only succeeded in sending herself tumbling back to the deck. The impact of her elbow against hard metal sent sharp pain shooting up her arm.

"Whoa! Easy there, Major," someone said as he helped her sit up against the back panel of the Raptor's interior.

Kara recognized that voice. It was Corpsman North.

Her eyes gradually began to focus and she could just make out the armband of a corpsman on the green blur hovering in front of her.

"I'm just going to check you over real quick.

She tried to struggle against his fingers as they held her eyelids open and a light was shined into her eyes, but she was still too out of it.

"Doesn't look as if the Commander gave you a full dose, sir, or you'd have been out for hours."

'_Full dose? Wha-?'_

The memory of the pain in her backside and the clatter of the syringe thrown across the deck slowly made its way through the haze.

'_Lee sedated me…the bastard.'_

Kara tried to speak, but she couldn't get her facial muscles to cooperate.

"How long?" she managed to force out with a minimal amount of drool.

"About forty-five minutes, sir."

'_I'm going to kill that fraking bastard.'_

But even as that thought ran through her head, her stomach was twisting itself into a tighter and tighter knot.

Lee _was_ coming back.

Wasn't he?

* * *

The minutes ticked by and Kara gradually completely regained her senses.

Her eyes hadn't left her watch since the moment they could properly focus again, and she ran the plan through her head over and over again as the second hand swept around.

"DRAIDS contact!" Hammerhead suddenly called out from his position at the ECO's console.

Everyone in the Raptor perked up.

"Multiple DRADIS contacts…" he amended as more and more blips began showing up on his screen. "They're broadcasting Colonial transponder signals. It's the fleet from New Caprica."

The excitement was palpable among the motley group of crewmembers inside the cramped space.

"They did it!" the pilot exclaimed from his seat at the front.

Kara grabbed onto the edge of Hammerhead's console and pulled herself halfway up.

"What about Pegasus and Galactica?" she asked

Hammerhead checked the display in front of him, "Uhm…can't see them yet, sir."

Then a large blip appeared.

"Another contact. It's Galactica."

More excitement, but Kara was more concerned about the other battlestar.

"What about Pegasus? What about the Raptors that were left on board?"

"Nothing yet, Major."

The excitement became muted.

Kara fell back to her original position.

Only one thought ran through her mind.

'_He's coming back.'_

'_He's coming back.'_

'_He's coming back.'_

* * *

"Admiral? Pegasus' planes are refusing to land. Should I order them to come in?"

Adama looked up to where Helo was standing with a headset pressed against his ear.

"No," the admiral said simply.

Both men turned their eyes back to the DRADIS displays and waited.

* * *

The pilot turned and told Hammerhead that they were running low on fuel. The DCAG had been getting similar reports from all of Pegasus' pilots.

He turned in his seat to look at Kara sitting against the Raptor's back panel.

"Major, the Vipers are running on fumes and the Raptors are getting close as well."

But Kara just stared straight ahead. She hadn't moved since Hammerhead last told her that Pegasus wasn't on the screen.

"We need to land, Major. Major?"

He shook his head. The CAG was obviously going to be little help right now.

Hammerhead switched wireless frequencies to call in his request, "Galactica. Hammerhead. Pegasus Air Group requesting permission to land."

A voice came through his earpiece a moment later, _"Permission granted, Pegasus Air Group."_

"Roger that, Galactica."

Switching back to the Air Group frequency, Hammerhead made the announcement: "Hammerhead to all Vipers, check in and call out your fuel levels. We're going to land on Galactica."

* * *

The hangar bay was filled with ragged and filthy civilians and former military personnel celebrating their escape from that wretched planet.

The stench of unwashed bodies and clothing was overwhelming as the crew of Pegasus disembarked from their vehicles, and although the stinking mass surged forward to bring them into the celebration, few of the new arrivals felt like joining in.

Underneath the yelling and the cheering, there was definite grumbling over the price that had been paid for this moment.

"Frak off, asswipe," one of Pegasus' marines said as he pushed an overzealous civilian out of the way.

Kara shoved her way through the crowd to get to the tool locker at the edge of the hangar bay. She needed to be alone.

She opened the hatch to the locker and walked in to interrupt a young couple's private celebration.

"Get out!" she ordered.

The couple separated in surprise and fumbled for their clothes. But they didn't move fast enough for her.

"NOW!"

That sent them scrambling out of the locker, holding their discarded clothing to their bodies. They were more afraid of what the blonde officer would do to them than the humiliation of being seen half-naked by hundreds of people.

Kara shut the hatch, muffling the merriment on the other side, and dogged the handle. She made sure that it was locked before sliding against the bulkhead down to the deck. She leaned her head against her hands resting on her knees to try and gather herself.

She wasn't going to cry.

There was no reason for her to cry.

Lee was going to come back.

Any minute now, there would be an announcement that Pegasus showed up on DRADIS, and she and the rest of the crew would get back on their planes to fly back and she would punch the bastard hard before kissing him senseless.

But the sensation of the wings on her ring pressing against her forehead brought her back to the present.

Reality was beginning to seep in but she refused to accept it.

'_He's coming back.'_

'_He's coming back.'_

'_He's coming back.'_

She wrapped her arms tightly around her knees and her body rocked back and forth as she repeated that mantra over and over again in her head.

But she wasn't just saying it in her head anymore.

"He's coming back. He's coming back. He's coming back…"

She rocked harder and harder, trying to stay in control. The back of her head began banging against the bulkhead behind her.

Her arms tightened almost painfully around her knees as the tension built up within her, like a tightly wound spring. It threatened to pop out at the slightest hint of release.

But she fought it.

Kept it inside.

But finally, it became too much.

She threw her head back and let it out: a raw, primal scream that echoed against the bulkheads and rang in her ears.

Sobs racked her body and hot tears ran down her face as she fell to deck on her side, still curled up into a ball.

And she kept on saying it.

"He's coming back. He's coming back. He's coming back…"

Maybe if she said it enough times, he would.

* * *

**I was really iffy about this chapter. What did you guys think?**


	22. Chapter 22

They'd managed to clear out the refugees that had no other ship to move to the unused hangar bay in the opposite flight pod, and the deck crew busied themselves with cleaning up after the celebration and finding places to store the new arrivals from Pegasus.

Crewman Coonts was pissed, he needed to get tools, but someone had locked the tool locker's hatch and turned on the frak light.

"Hey! Stop fraking and get out of there!" He yelled as he pounded on the hatch. "Some of us have work to do!"

Suddenly, he could hear the handle turning.

"Finally! Thank you!"

The hatch opened to reveal Starbuck. But instead of exhibiting the fiery temper she was so well known for, with her tear streaked face and bloodshot eyes, the woman looked like a complete wreck, and that threw the crewman off even more than a chewing out would have.

"Major! I'm sorry….I-I-"

But the major just brushed by Coonts as if in a trance, not even acknowledging his existence. She walked a short distance away from the locker's hatch and stopped.

She just stood there

Across the hangar, Helo and Sharon were supervising the deckhands parking the additional Vipers and Raptors from Pegasus.

Sharon flipped through the Air Group roster, ticking off planes and their crews as she walked past them.

"Well, we want to keep the squadrons together," she told her husband. "So we should open up those unused sections towards the rear and start using them."

Helo nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but do the launches still work down there? I think the knuckle draggers took apart one of the mag-cats for parts."

"Just one. All the other launches still work, and we really need the space. I mean, Apollo must have cleared off every bit of equipment that could be loaded onto the Raptors."

"Yeah…" he said looking away from his wife, quietly remembering how just before Galactica jumped away, Pegasus was taking a pounding from three basestars and hundreds of raiders.

Then he saw Kara just standing at the edge of the hangar. Even from a distance, he could tell that his friend was a complete mess

Helo turned and caught Sharon's eye. She'd seen the same thing.

"Go," she simply said and called for Racetrack to come over and help her with her task.

* * *

Kara was barely aware of how Helo led her up the ladder out of the hangar bay and to a vacant visitor's stateroom.

She simply sat down on the rack with her hands hanging limply at her knees, and stared at the titanium and gold ring on her finger.

That was how Helo left her, and she didn't move from that position.

Hours passed, and she kept looking at that ring.

It was all that she had left of Lee now.

Not even her photo was left. It had been in their quarters on Pegasus when he took off after his father.

There was some sort of commotion going on in the corridor, but she didn't notice. But then the hatch slowly opened and in walked the last man she thought she'd see-but the first she'd hoped it would be.

Lee Adama.

With eyes wide in shock and confusion, Kara slowly stood up and walked towards Lee. Part of her didn't totally believe that he was actually standing in the room with her, but the large bandage on his temple and the bruising that spread beyond its edges showed that he was indeed real.

He gave her a small, nervous smile and said, "Hey."

Kara didn't reply. She just kept on walking towards him and held out her hand to place it against his chest.

She felt the fabric of his jacket and the muscle underneath.

He really was there.

Emotions bubbled up within her once again.

Anger at being left behind-at being left alone with no idea as to whether or not he was dead or alive-raged through her like an overflowing dam opened up during a storm.

Kara clenched her fists and shoved him back hard against the hatch. So hard that the heavy thing completely shut at the impact.

"You bastard!" she yelled, landing several hard blows against his chest.

Lee wrapped his arms around Kara's waist and held her tight but did nothing to stop the pounding of her fists on his body.

"You!" Punch.

"Fraking!" Punch.

"Piece!" Punch.

"Of!" Punch.

"Shit!" Punch.

Eventually, her blows grew weaker and weaker as her emotions shifted.

"I thought-I thought-"

Kara couldn't finish that sentence. She couldn't bring herself to say _that _word; to say that, even for a moment, that she thought that he was...dead.

Instead, she grabbed fistfuls of his uniform jacket and buried her face into his neck.

Lee held Kara gently now as she cried against him, quietly crying himself. Her sobs slowly settled into heavy breathing and the occasional hiccup when he felt her lips move against his skin, moving up his neck, to his jaw, cheek, and mouth.

Kara's kisses quickly grew more forceful and she let go of the bunched up fabric in her hands to clasp her fingers behind his head. She pulled him closer, giving the kisses lip-bruising intensity as their tongues tried to entangle themselves around each other.

Lee responded almost immediately. He shifted his grip lower on Kara's body to lift her up and she, sensing what he was going to do, eagerly jumped in anticipation. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist when she felt him take her weight in his arms.

They all but fell together onto the rack's foam mattress-not bothering to pull back the sheets and blanket-and immediately attacked the other's uniform jacket, fumbling at the buttons, knocking the other's hands out of the way so that they could be the first done with their task.

Layer after layer of clothing was ripped off and thrown across the room, and soon there was nothing between them.

Their movements were hard and desperate as they clung to each other-seeking out that intimacy that had disappeared from their relationship during the tense build up to Galactica's departure.

But they were here now-together-reclaiming the love that they shared.

Later, they lay spooned together on the tiny rack, utterly spent from their lovemaking.

Even in sleep, Kara held Lee's arm across her chest in a death grip; as if she was afraid he was just a dream and would disappear once she woke up.

But he wasn't going to fade away into nothingness. He really was there, with his head propped up against his hand, watching her.

He leaned his head down to press a kiss just behind her ear, lightly so as not to wake her.

But Kara did wake up. She shifted against Lee's body and tightened her grip around his arm for a moment as she fully regained consciousness.

For a moment, Kara did nothing. She just lay there, silently rubbing her hands up and down Lee's forearm.

Lee wondered what was going through her mind when she tilted her head back to meet his eyes with hers.

He wanted to kiss her. Show her his love for her, but there was a look in her eyes-a glint-that stopped him from closing the distance between them.

Kara released Lee's arm and twisted around so that they were nose to nose, and although they were naked and in each others arms, sex was far from their minds.

"You drugged me," she said simply. "I should kick your ass."

Any other time, he would have simply laughed at her threat, but not today.

"Kara…I just wanted you to be safe," he said truthfully.

That only angered her. "Dammit, Lee! Didn't you see me when you walked in?"

He had. She had been an empty shell, completely devoid of the fire that burned all those who dared to try and get too close.

"I can't live without you," she continued. "If it was anyone else, I'd get over it, but…" Kara brought her hands up to roughly cup Lee's face. She stressed her words to get her point across. "Not. You."

"Kara…" Lee tried to speak, but he was overwhelmed at the emotions he saw churning in Kara's hazel eyes.

He surged forward and captured her lips with his own, needing to show her that he felt the same way.

They couldn't lose the other.

Life wasn't worth living if they did.

* * *

Still later, they lay under the inadequately small blanket with Kara curled up against Lee's side. She sighed contentedly at the sensation of Lee's fingers lightly caressing her skin.

Kara shifted her face against where it rested on Lee's chest and quietly asked, "Lee?"

"Yeah," he murmured against her hair.

She took a breath before asking. She wasn't sure if he was ready to answer her question, but she needed to know: "What happened out there?"

There was a brief moment's hesitation before Lee urged Kara up so that he could look at her and began talking: "We jumped in at high orbit…picked up Galactica and four basestars on DRADIS. We moved in at full speed and took out the nearest basestar the moment it came in range."

"And then?"

"Galactica jumped away…I had Hoshi calculate a jump to someplace close, but far enough away from the planet so that we could have time to properly calculate the jump back."

He'd left out details like the severe jump sickness everyone had after the roughly calculated first jump, and that the bandage on his head was a result of him collapsing against the chart table because of severe nausea as his internal organs shifted back into their proper positions.

And that they'd taken out one more basestar before they jumped and fired off a nuke for good measure but didn't stay to see what sort of havoc they'd wrought.

And that if the calculations for that jump hadn't been made in time, he would have rammed Pegasus into the Cylons to take as many of them with him when he died.

Kara didn't need to know any of that just yet.

"But we fried the FTL computers with that first jump and it took the techs hours to get it fixed."

Kara's eyes had never left his as he said all this. "And that's it?" she asked.

He nodded, "Pretty much, yeah."

Lee sat up and leaned his back against the cold metal of the bulkhead. Kara looked at him, curious as to why he was getting up.

"We have to get back," he answered her silent question. "I'd told Lewis I'd only be gone for a couple of hours."

And for the first time since this all began, Kara smiled. The thought of the uppity Lewis left in command of a battlestar was as funny as it was scary.

* * *

**And the New Caprica story arc is complete. Hope you guys liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**More coming soon!**


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm in a good mood this week. I got to see a museum exhibit I've been itching to go to, after an eighteen month search I finally tracked down a relatively obscure album, and the Torchwood finale and Doctor Who premiere are this weekend!**

* * *

Life was slowly but surely getting back to normal in the fleet-even if it was a life on the run with the guarantee that death could pop up and claim you at any moment.

Pegasus was fully crewed once again. In fact, she was more crowded than before, since Lee had agreed to take on half of the refugees who had no place to go because of the lack of berthing spaces on the civilian ships.

And with the returning crewmembers stepping back into their original positions in the chain of command, some reshuffling was inevitable.

Lewis resumed his duties as the ship's helm officer now that the original XO was back, while Kara, on the other hand, retained command of the air group, because her predecessor had been executed for being a part of the resistance on New Caprica. She now had to deal with a full pilot roster and the stacks of paperwork that came with it.

As she was doing now, cooped up in her office initialing this and signing that.

The phone suddenly rang, startling her, and making her send the day's maintenance reports fluttering off her desk.

"Frak," Kara muttered as she brought the receiver to her ear.

"Thr-" she began to say before quickly correcting herself: "Adama."

She really needed to start getting used to using her new name, but it was still all too new.

They'd gotten married over on Galactica immediately after their reunion, in the admiral's quarters with a priestess they'd found among the refugees to conduct the ceremony.

Just the two of them, the priestess, and the old man as their only witness.

It had been her idea. She'd grabbed Lee's hand after they'd exited the stateroom and told him that they were going to tie the knot before they returned to Pegasus, giving his hand a painful squeeze to show that she was serious.

And it was also probably the first time she ever saw the stoic William Adama become misty eyed as she and Lee pledged their undying love for one another.

But those memories quickly retreated to the back of her mind for the moment as she spoke with the deck chief.

"Yeah…they didn't show up, huh? Well send someone to look for them. I'll come down later to deal with it."

She sighed as she hung up and rubbed her tired eyes. It seemed as if some people were a bit slow on the reuptake of old skills-timekeeping in particular-and for once in her life, she didn't feel like bitching at hapless mechanics.

* * *

Lee smiled and nodded at saluting personnel as he walked by on his weekly inspection of the ship.

It felt good to be inspecting a fully-crewed battlestar after having walked the dimly lit and often empty corridors for so long.

His footsteps no longer echoed as he walked and the lights were back up on full. Crewmembers went about their business, filling the ship with noise, and now he ran into the occasional lost civilian as well.

Pegasus was alive again.

Lee was about to turn into the main corridor when two enlisted crew carrying a heavy piece of equipment suddenly rushed by, causing him to step back and wait for them to pass. That was when he felt something tugging on his pants at around knee level.

He jerked his head to see what was going on and saw a little girl about four or five with curly blonde hair and dressed in a sweatshirt too big for her looking up at him with wide blue eyes. It was obvious that she had been crying, and a quick look around told him that there was no one around who could have been her parents.

Unsure of what he should do, Lee hesitantly knelt down so that he could be at eye level with the child.

"Uhm. Hi there. What's your name?"

"Kacey," the girl said in a soft, trembling voice that told Lee that she was on the verge of bursting into tears again.

"Hi, Kacey…uh…my name's Lee," he said gently. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

He could just make out the words: "Lost" and "Mommy"

"You lost your mom?" he asked, wanting to be sure.

The girl nodded sadly.

Lee knew that he could easily pass this girl off to some junior enlisted crewman and go on his way-and his track record with children told him that it was probably a good idea-but something made him want to personally make sure that she was safe with her mother.

"Okay…weeelll…do you want me to help you find her?"

Kacey nodded again, this time with a bit of energy behind the movement.

He held out his hand, expecting Kacey to take it, but the girl instead stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck with a strength that seemed unnatural for someone her size.

"Oh. Huh…Okay…uh….wow…uhm…"

Lee was surprised. This was completely different from the few times he'd interacted with children. The memories of how awkward he had been with Paya were running laps around his brain as he brought a nervously shaking hand up against Kacey's back and tried to gently pry her arms from around his neck with his other hand., but she wouldn't let go.

Shrugging inwardly, Lee stood up with Kacey hanging on to him. Using his arms to take most of her weight off of his neck, he set off towards the cargo bay that housed the civilian refugees.

He ignored the stares he was getting as he walked and leaned his head back to try and see Kacey's face, but saw her hair instead.

"Can you tell me what your mom looks like?" he asked the mass of golden curls.

"Pretty," came the simple reply.

"Okay…" It wasn't much to go on, but he assumed that it would be easy to find a mother looking for her lost child.

* * *

Kara finally exited her office, her muscles grateful for the chance to stretch out, after having gathered enough energy to yell at somebody. But she was pretty sure that today's performance wasn't going to be one of Starbuck's finest.

As she walked through Pegasus to head to the flight deck, she saw Lee turn a corner onto the main corridor with a child in his arms. He was walking in the same direction as she was so he hadn't seen her.

Curious as to what was going on Kara quickened her pace and half walked half jogged to catch up to her husband of a week.

She was quickly by his side and said, "Commander."

Lee started at the sound of his wife's voice. He had been totally absorbed in the process of trying to get Kacey to open up a bit,

"Major," he replied, a little flustered.

"New friend?" she asked playfully, gesturing at the girl who was now staring at her while resting her head against Lee's shoulder.

"Yeah…This is Kacey," Lee said, unconsciously shifting the girl into a more comfortable position. "Kacey, this is Kara."

"Hi," Kara said with a smile and a little wave.

Kacey took a long look at the woman walking next to her before deciding to turn her head and look the other way.

"Should I be jealous?" Kara asked, trying to deflect from how she was hurt by Kacey's reaction. She would be the first to admit that she wasn't good with children, but she never thought that one would turn away from such a simple greeting.

But Lee just smiled and said, "She's a little shy."

'_No, really?'_ Kara thought to herself as she continued to walk with them.

She suddenly noticed that Lee's gaze was flicking between her and Kacey.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling defensive.

"Nothing," Lee said in that irritatingly sweet tone he used occasionally. "She looks like you, don't you think?"

Kara didn't know what got to her more, his tone of voice or the comparison he was making. "She does not."

"You don't see the resemblance?"

"Just because we're both blonde doesn't mean we look alike."

"I don't see why you're all worked up about this. What do you think about Kara, Kacey? Do you think you two look alike?"

Kacey finally turned her head to look back at Kara before looking up at Lee and nodding her agreement. "Pretty," the young girl added.

Lee grinned triumphantly. "See?"

Kara fumbled for something to say.

"Well…She has your eyes!" she shot back.

There was an awkward silence between them when they both realized that they had been talking about Kacey as if she was their own daughter.

Lee was the first to break the silence, "So…what are you doing out of your office?"

Kara was grateful for the change in subject. "I got a call from the flight deck. Seems like some of the knuckle draggers forgot how things work around here while they were on the planet."

"Well you're headed the wrong way," he jerked his head towards their sixes in emphasis.

"Yeah…figured I'd just put on the finishing touches after the chief is done with them."

"Ah."

By now, they'd reached the cargo bay, and they entered a swamp of cots with awkwardly hung pieces of cloth providing the vaguest semblance of privacy for its inhabitants.

Lee's eyes immediately began scanning to see someone who might be Kacey's mother.

"Do you see your mom anywhere?" he asked the little girl in his arms.

A frantic looking woman about Kara's age caught sight of the group and called out from halfway across the cargo bay, "Kacey!"

The young girl promptly perked up at the sound of her mother's voice, lightly knocking Lee's chin with the top of her head. "Mommy!"

Kacey's mother dashed across the deck to the small group and reached out for her daughter, practically ripping Kacey from Lee's grasp.

She completely ignored the two adults who had brought her daughter back and began tearfully, yet sternly, talking to Kacey.

"Where were you? I thought I told you not to move."

"Sorry, Mommy."

"Don't do that again, okay? Remember what happened that time? We don't want that to happen again, right?"

Kacey shook her head, "No."

The mother finally seemed to notice the two officers in blue standing awkwardly to the side of their little reunion.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, putting Kacey down so that she could shake their hands.

Lee just smiled and said, "No problem. Bye, Kacey."

"Bye," Kara said, wondering if the girl would turn away like when she greeted her earlier.

This time, Kacey smiled at her and waved goodbye.

Lee noticed that Kara had an odd smile on her face as they walked out of the cargo bay.

Kara wasn't aware that she was smiling though.

Before, she had been too tired to yell at anyone.

Now, she was feeling too good to muster up the anger.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Lee's old squadron is named after VFA-2, one of the oldest fighter/attack squadrons in the US Navy.**

* * *

It was rare that the hangar would be completely deserted, but tonight it was, with the exception of one lone figure dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants: Lee.

He'd come down to visit his Viper in private, without the prying eyes of the deck crew and pilots who would have usually been scurrying around.

The Mark II he flew while on Galactica had been recycled back into the air group and was now being flown by someone else. His Mark VII, however, came with him when he assumed command of Pegasus.

The fighter was the only real connection he had back with his life before the attacks, and it still bore the designation and insignia of his old squadron off of the Atlantia: CV-2, the Bounty Hunters.

The only things that had been changed on the Viper were the nameplates beneath the cockpit. They now read:

_Commander Lee Adama_

_Apollo_

He ran his hand along the cool metal hull, half expecting a layer of dust to come off, but the crew had been fastidious in maintaining their CO's plane. He knew that if the need ever arose, all that needed to be done was to arm and fuel the Viper and he'd be out of the launch tube the moment the doors closed behind him.

Lee walked over to another nearby berthing space and grabbed a step ladder. He dragged it back to his Viper, intending to just sit in the cockpit for a bit.

He'd put his foot on the first step when Kara's voice called out, "Hey, flyboy."

Lee's entire body jerked in surprise, causing Kara to smirk in amusement. He had been so absorbed in getting reacquainted with his fighter that he hadn't heard her coming.

He whipped around to see her with that familiar shit-eating grin on her face, still wearing her uniform, but with the jacket unbuttoned, and her hair falling loose across her shoulders.

"Hey," Lee almost stuttered. "I thought you had paperwork backed up."

Kara just shrugged and brightly said, "I lied."

Lee's brows furrowed. Whatever reason would Kara have to lie about paperwork-something she hated more than being grounded?

But she kept on talking as she closed the distance between them, "I was betting that you'd come down here, becaaaauuuuuse I got you something."

Kara finally stopped with just a few inches of space between them. Lee's hands automatically moved to rest on her hips and tried to pull her closer, but she resisted with a smile and an odd glint began dancing in her eyes.

Lee was curious, but when he saw that purple drawstring pouch come out of Kara's pocket, he immediately knew what was going on.

Kara reached down, grasped Lee's left hand, and held it up between them as she rubbed her thumb along his bare ring finger.

"We've been married for a month," she said. "And I'm the only one wearing a ring."

She loosened the string and dropped the ring into her palm.

"I think it's about time we fixed that."

Lee grinned widely when Kara slipped the shiny new ring onto his finger and kissed it before looking at him expectantly.

"Well? What do you think?"

He took a moment to take a look at his new wedding band and how it fit perfectly on his finger.

It was made out of titanium like Kara's, but it was a thicker, solid band instead. A groove ran along the middle that was interrupted by a set of engraved wings that matched the one on Kara's ring, and the entire engraved portion was inlayed with gold.

Indeed, Kara had found the same jeweler Lee had tracked down.

"I love it," Lee said and this time, Kara came willingly closer when he tugged on her hips. "I love you."

She rested her hands against his chest and reveled in the sensation of her husband nuzzling her hair. "I love you too," she sighed.

Suddenly, BANG!

Immediately followed by the ringing of metal clattering across the deck.

They jerked apart at that loud noise of somebody or something knocking over a tool cart.

"What the frak?" Kara quietly muttered.

From their position in a Viper berth, they were hidden, out of sight from the rest of the hangar. But they could hear the heavy footsteps of several people and angry voices that were speaking too low for either of them to understand what was being said.

Then came the heavy whirring of machinery when somebody opened a launch tube door.

Kara and Lee exchanged puzzled looks, wondering what was going on.

Kara was the first to move. She quickly padded across the deck as silently as she could with Lee right on her heels. She ground to a quick stop at the entrance to the launch tube and stared at the site in front of her with wide eyes, not totally believing that this was happening.

Lee's angrily puzzled voice suddenly came from behind her: "What the hell's going on?"

* * *

Kara had seen Lee angry before.

Oftentimes because of her.

But today was several steps beyond what she had seen before.

She'd made him angry enough to strike out, but now he seemed ready to airlock somebody.

Or some bodies.

More specifically the six crewmembers currently standing in Pegasus' brig under armed guard, all of whom had been on New Caprica during the Cylon occupation.

Kara knew two of them well. They were among the younger of the knuckle draggers and must have barely been out of basic training at the time of the first exodus.

She knew the oldest member of the group as well. She was the chief of engineering-one of the most senior NCOs on board-and was the apparent ringleader.

She could only assume that the three remaining crew were snipes, since she could barely remember ever seeing them around.

"So you've been sneaking off into tool lockers in the middle of the night to meet and discuss who to kill?" Lee asked, snapping shut the folder one of the apparent snipes had been holding when caught in the launch tube.

"Yes," one of the snipes said.

All six of them were standing, and some of them had smug expressions on their faces.

Kara had been quiet ever since the marines arrived in the hangar bay after she and Lee caught the group of six standing around a bound and bruised mechanic, but now she opened her mouth to speak in response to the prisoners' attitudes.

"What the hell are you fraking idiots so proud of?"

"You can't hold us here," the same snipe said. He had apparently made himself the group's spokesperson. "We have the permission and protection of the President of the Colonies to purge those who collaborated with the Cylons from the military."

Kara was incredulous. "Purge?"

The nod that snipe gave her made her angry enough to want to drive her hand through the barrier between them and wringing the man's neck if it wasn't for the fact that she knew that the ballistic glass would break her hands if she tried.

And it seemed as if Lee had enough as well.

Kara turned her head to see her husband turning to exit the brig with a look of total disgust on his face.

She turned to leave, but had a question to ask.

"If you had permission and protection, then why do it in secret?"

The spokessnipe didn't have an answer for that and neither did anyone else, it seemed.

Kara's lips twisted into a sneer. She had one last thing to say to the group behind the glass before she left, and she said it with as much disgust as she could: "Cowards."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Lee was fully dressed and sitting in his father's quarters, waiting for the last participant in their meeting to arrive. A knock came from the hatch and the two men stood as the newly-appointed Vice President Laura Roslin entered.

"Admiral. Commander." She seemed a bit surprised to see Lee present, but she quickly recovered. "What was so urgent that this couldn't wait until morning?"

Adama spoke first. "Commander and Major Adama discovered that a group of military personnel had been meting out punishment to people who had been accused of being collaborators on board the Pegasus earlier tonight."

Roslin squinted her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean by 'punishment'?"

"They've been executing them," Adama said bluntly. "Soon after I got the call from the Commander, my marines found a similar group on Galactica preparing to send Lieutenant Gaeta out of one of our Viper launches."

"You mean they've been-?"

Lee jumped in then: "Airlocking accused collaborators? Yes, ma'am."

"Both battlestars are missing 12 crew in total," Adama continued to speak. "I think we just found the answer to that mystery."

"My gods…How? Why are they doing this?"

Lee explained as best as he could what he had gleaned from talking to the six caught on Pegasus and the contents of the folders that had been confiscated. About how the group of six received files containing information about people who had been accused to collaborating with the Cylons and deliberated amongst themselves using the limited information available to them to come up with an unanimous verdict, with the punishment always being death.

Roslin, ever the pragmatist quickly came up with a solution to their problem.

"Zarek will be stepping down as president in three days. I'll be able to issue a blanket pardon to all those who collaborated with the Cylons and make it clear that anyone who tried to get revenge will be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

But Lee saw a problem with that. "But that's three whole days. Who knows what will happen between now and then. There could be groups like this on the civilian ships.

"Well…I have a meeting with the president tomorrow morning. If the admiral would be willing to accompany me, I'm sure we can confront him and ask him to retract his executive order."

Adama nodded to show his agreement and to express his willingness to go with Roslin as she continued to speak.

"But other than that, I don't know what more I can do."

The two Adama men agreed and stood when Roslin did to make her exit.

"Gentlemen."

Adama softly replied, "Madame Vice President," and she left.

Lee rubbed his temples to try and ease the pain of the encroaching headache with little success. "This is a fraking mess, Dad," he groaned.

"I know."

"We handle this the wrong way and our crews will split right down the middle. We could have a mutiny on our hands."

Adama was silent. His son didn't know it yet, but one of those caught on Galactica had been Colonel Tigh.

If someone he thought he knew as well as Saul could do such a thing, Adama didn't really want to contemplate the sort of animosity that was running beneath the surface of the people in general and military personnel in particular.

* * *

The upper, private section of Colonial One was dark and quiet when Lee entered nearly twenty hours after his meeting with his father and Roslin. He drew back a curtain to enter the presidential office portion of the ship.

Tom Zarek looked up from where he was sitting at his desk and didn't bother with niceties when talking to his guest.

"Come to enforce Zeus' will again, Apollo?"

"No…" Lee said with forced lightness. "This is more of a…social call, Mr. President."

He walked up to the desk and sat down in one of the chairs without asking for or receiving permission to.

The two men sat stock still and looked at each other in silence.

It was the president who spoke first: "You're wondering why I issued the executive order regarding collaborators."

Lee gave a noncommittal shrug, so Zarek continued to speak. "Like I told Zeus and Roslin earlier today, I did it because doing it out in the open would have slowed the process down."

"Because the rights provided to all Colonists under the Articles of Colonization would have meant that you'd have to give them a fair and proper trial, right?" Lee asked with deadpan sarcasm. "That would have taken too long and wasted too many precious resources."

"I'm not going to get into an argument over morals with you, Apollo."

"Why? Because I haven't been beaten and chained to the deck like last time?"

Zarek tried to remain in control, but it was obvious that he was quickly fraying. "No…"

Lee cut the older man off before he could explain himself. He was beginning to build up some steam and he felt the indignant anger within himself beginning to bubble over.

"Can't go head to head with an opponent that might hit back, huh?"

"I was doing what needed to be done!" Zarek all but shouted.

"So you decided to rule by presidential fiat?"

"You are out of line, Commander!"

Lee snorted in amusement at how Zarek used such an official phrase and his proper rank for once.

"Funny. You spent all your life fighting against injustices that only you and a few fanatics perceived and now that you have power, you abuse it more than any of your 'oppressors.'"

He stood up to leave.

"Goodnight, Mr. President."

And he was gone, leaving Zarek to contemplate the ramifications of his actions.

* * *

**While I was writing this chapter, I remembered something (out of many things) that annoyed the hell out of me during season 3: Seelix (I groaned every time that woman opened her mouth). For a show that boasts about its actors, it has its fair share of misses.**

**Agree? Disagree?**

**And what did you think of this installment?**


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Sorry about how the story's turned episodic lately. Bear with me. Jumping directly to the final arc without this transition period would have simply been ridiculous.**

* * *

Kara was in the middle of flying CAP. She could just make out Galactica's Mark IIs zooming along on the other side of the fleet and Showboat's Mark VII was right on her wing. She shifted in her seat and lightly flexed her hands over the controls to keep them from cramping up.

It was shaping up to be another quiet day out in space, and that thought made her sigh quietly to herself as she resisted the urge to fire her attitude thrusters to break the tedium with a barrel roll.

That's what sucked about being CAG sometimes. She had to lead pilots, not show off in front of them and make them feel like shit like she used to.

Suddenly, three bright flashes of light nearly blinded her and three Cylon Raiders blinked into existence in front of her Viper's nose. Two flying in close formation and another out ahead-most likely the flight leader.

"Holy frak!" Kara jerked back hard on her control column to fire her reverse thrusters and barely avoided colliding with the Raiders in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Showboat had done the same thing off of her port wing.

Kara keyed open her wireless and called out, "Pegasus. Starbuck. Raiders just jumped in right on top of us! Engaging!"

"_We see them. Take them out, Starbuck._"

"Roger that…Showboat, start from the left, I'll go for the right."

"_Got it._"

Kara locked her eyes on the Raider in front of her and tightened her grip on the control column. She lined the Cylon in her sights and jammed her thumb down on the fire button.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

The engagement was over as quickly as the Raiders had appeared, as Starbuck and Showboat fired off quick controlled bursts and flew through the cloud of metal chunks that were left over.

"Splash three!" Starbuck crowed over the wireless band, causing Hoshi to wince in pain and quickly rip his headset off in Pegasus' CIC.

"_DRADIS shows no other bogies out there. Come on home for immediate jump. Combat landings authorized_."

"Copy that, Pegasus. Coming home. Let's go, Showboat."

"_I'm right behind you_."

* * *

Kara was on a high.

Finally after nearly three years, she had seen action again and writing up an after action report actually felt like fun for once.

Oh gods, she was starting to scare herself.

A crisp knocking came from the hatch.

"Yeah," she called out without looking up from what she was writing.

The hatch opened, and Kara took a brief glimpse to see that it was Showboat.

"Hey, Showboat," Kara said while continuing to write. "Are you done with your AAR already?"

"No, sir. There was something I wanted to talk to you about, sir."

"What's that?"

"Didn't you find that a little weird, Major?"

Kara stopped writing and looked up at the captain.

"What do you mean 'weird'?"

Showboat opened her mouth to explain what she meant, but a chime interrupted her.

"_All hands prepare for jump number two in: five…four…"_

Kara motioned for Showboat to sit down

"_Three…two…one…jumping."_

After having been through thousands of FTL jumps, the two women shook off the aftereffects with ease, and carried on their conversation as if nothing had happened.

"There were only three Raiders out there," Showboat said. "They usually come in pairs so there should have been four."

Kara slightly cocked her head and thought about it. How had she missed that?

"Huh…you're right. That is weird. Any ideas?"

Showboat nodded and said, "A few. All of them are possible, but I don't know if any of them can be confirmed."

"Well, let's hear them."

"Could be a change it tactics…maybe they're trying to conserve resources…or maybe their FTL drives aren't as accurate as we thought they were and one appeared someplace else completely."

Kara nodded and thought about the possibilities that had been brought up.

"They all sound plausible. Are they in your report?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well if you have any other ideas, write them down. We'll talk more about this after the jump sequence is over."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed, Captain."

* * *

There was enough time for the third and final jump in the sequence to be calculated and executed before Kara and Showboat finished their conversation and she could go and see Lee.

He was sitting behind his desk in his ready room and talking on the phone when she burst through the hatch.

"Alright…tell the Admiral I got it." Lee made eye contact and stifled a laugh at seeing the light dancing in Kara's eyes. It really wasn't right for anyone to feel so good at a time like this, but leave it to the love of his life to pull it off.

She busied herself with dogging the hatch as he continued talking. "Send over the plans ASAP and I'll have my crew begin prepping the moment they arrive….Thanks, Captain."

Lee hung up the phone and Kara looked at him, curious as to what he had been talking about.

"So what was that all about?" she asked.

"Changes to the jump plan. Agathon says that we have about four more jumps ahead of us, but he was sketchy on details so I won't know for sure until the Raptor from Galactica comes with the Admiral's plans."

Lee got up and walked around his desk towards Kara.

"Well…you look happy."

He was stating the obvious. It had been years since Kara had seen a Cylon up close and it was clear that she was still pumped.

"I am."

Without preamble, she grabbed fistfuls of his jacket and threw him onto the couch.

Lee felt the air whoosh from his lungs at the impact. He didn't even have time to take a breath before Kara was straddling his hips and kissing him senseless.

"And I'm feeling horny."

He was breathing heavily, although at the moment it was because of a lack of oxygen rather than arousal. "Really?"

"Yeah."

She captured his lips again. Softer this time but no less insistent, and he couldn't help but respond and run his hands up and down her back.

Lee pulled back just enough to separate their lips so that he could feebly protest, "We don't have enough time."

"Don't care."

Kara unzipped her flight suit and worked quickly to get her arms out of the sleeves.

"Seriously, Kara. That Raptor will be here soon."

She just hooked her hands on the back of the couch and pulled herself forward to further pin him into his seat, grinding him into the cushion. "Uh huh."

He fought down the urge to groan and tried to keep his wits about him as Kara took an earlobe into her mouth. "And I'm sure you have paperwork."

Her breath was hot against his ear as she breathily whispered, "Finished it."

Kara knew Lee's resistance crumbling. She could feel how his fingers were digging through the bunched up fabric around her waist and pulling her even closer to him even as he was telling her that they needed to stop.

She was halfway through unbuttoning his jacket and his hands were busy beneath her scrunched up tanks when the obnoxious ringing of the phone interrupted their activities.

It was Kara's turn to bite back a groan when Lee moved her off of him to get to his desk.

"Adama," he answered while trying to fix his mussed up hair with only his free hand and no mirror.

"Yeah. I'll be right there."

Kara let her head roll to the side and watched her husband make himself look presentable through heavy eyelids. The metal of his ring glinted in the light and she began to unconsciously rub her own at the sight of it.

Lee buttoned up his jacket and leaned over where his wife was sitting on the couch.

"Sorry, the Raptor's here. Gotta go." Although his tone was truly apologetic, there was a hint of 'I told you so' in his voice, and she made a mental note to make him pay for it later. "Can you wait?"

"I doubt it."

* * *

**Where is everybody? Let me know you're alive, guys! Review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN for the new edition: I did a bit of a rewrite of Racetrack's and Athena's dialog towards the end here so that it will mesh better with coming installments.**

**AN: I was going to have a challenge about the mystery of the three Raiders in the last chapter but decided not to because the correct answer was a bit morbid. But congratulations to Uberscribbler all the same, for at least suspecting that I killed off Bulldog.**

* * *

It was supposed to be just another routine jump.

Completely uneventful.

A precautionary measure to put some distance between the fleet and the Cylons.

But it seemed as if the fates-as always-were not looking favorably upon the Colonials.

"Jump compl-DRADIS contact!" Hoshi called out in Pegasus' CIC. "We've got a basestar out there."

"Action stations! Launch alert fighters. Helm, move us between the Cylons and the fleet."

The crew immediately snapped into action, with everybody scrambling to carry out Lee's orders.

"The hangar deck is reporting that alert fighters are away and that they're putting the first squad into the tubes now, Commander," came the announcement from Hoshi.

The XO spoke up next, "Sir, it doesn't look as if the basestar is launching any raiders."

He gestured for Lee to look at the DRADIS display. It was true. There was just a single large blip representing the basestar, without the familiar swarm emanating from it.

Lee and his XO stood next to each other, looking at the DRADIS, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What the hell are they doing?" Lee quietly muttered so that only the XO could hear.

"Maybe they're trying to draw our fighters in, sir. Overwhelm them and take them out away from the cover of the battlestars."

"Maybe…"

Then Hoshi spoke again, telling Lee: "Admiral Adama on the line, sir."

He grabbed the nearest handset from its cradle. "Pegasus Actual. Go ahead, Galactica."

He listened to his father talk and then replied, _"_Yes sir, I can see that the Basestar isn't taking any action. What are your orders?"

He listened a bit more before hanging up and calling out, "Mr. Hoshi."

"Sir!"

"Tell our fighters to remain in a defensive position near the fleet and not to approach."

"Yes, sir."

Just then a lone blip on the DRADIS display began moving away from the cluster of Colonial vessels.

"Who broke from formation?" Lee asked, already prepared to hear that familiar callsign.

The petty officer at the comms station listened in on the air group frequency to hear the chatter and answered Lee's question: "Kat, sir."

Lee's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. He hadn't been expecting that.

Then: "Commander? You might want to hear this."

"Put it on speaker."

"_-looks as if they're all dead, Galactica. I say again. Cylon Raiders are just floating around the basestar. It looks as if they're all dead._"

Maybe the fates were smiling down on them for once.

* * *

Adama had decided that Galactica's personnel would investigate what was going on with the basestar, so most of Pegasus' air group was able to stand down with just four of its fighters flying CAP for the fleet.

And Kara took advantage of the reprieve to pay a visit to Lee in his ready room and vent a little bit.

"Who the hell does Kat think she is breaking formation like that?"

She angrily paced back and forth while he leaned against his desk and watched and listened to his wife's tirade.

"What if it had been a trap? Did she think about that? That bitch is going to get herself killed one day and take a whole shitload of pilots with her."

This felt familiar. He'd done the same thing with his father back when he had still been a fighter pilot, mostly complaining about the antics of a certain blond pain in the ass.

A whole slew of emotions ran through Lee as Kara continued to talk: sympathy, amusement, and most of all pride at seeing how she had completely grown into her role of authority as CAG without even knowing it.

"And-What?" Kara had caught sight of her husband's face and wanted to know why he was looking at her with that odd expression on his face.

"Nothing. I'm just-"

The phone rang, interrupting him.

"Adama."

Kara watched as Lee's expression darken by degrees before he hung up.

"The basestar just self destructed," he told her. "And the away team from Galactica is being put in quarantine. Apparently there's a killer infection on the loose out there."

* * *

Twenty four hours after the away team was put in quarantine, they were declared clean and released from Galactica's sickbay. But it didn't mean that they were free to go back to their regular duties. Now they were in a conference room in a meeting with senior officers from the battlestars, their two medical officers, President Roslin, and the three Adamas in attendance.

Kara watched Adama as the meeting progressed from her seat next to Lee. It was odd to see him so quiet in a meeting like this. Normally he was the one taking charge, engaging in a subtle game of one-upmanship with President Roslin. But not today.

There was a heaviness about the Old Man lately ever since Colonel Tigh had disappeared a few weeks before, presumably to drink himself into oblivion on one of the civilian ships. Adama blamed himself for his friend's dropping off the grid. He had been the one who forced Tigh to move down to New Caprica and end up suffering at the hands of the Cylons.

Although Adama clearly held out hope that his friend would turn up and straighten himself out, Helo had been promoted to Major to permanently take over as Galactica's XO.

Photos taken in the basestar's interior were projected onto the conference room screen. Kara felt an odd combination of fear and satisfaction at the images of dead Cylons lying about, especially when models identical to the Leoben that she had interrogated about four years previously came up.

"They were all dead," Gunnery Sergeant Mathias was saying. "Raiders were just floating everywhere. There were skin jobs lying around and a couple of the Centurions were still jerking about but we took care of that."

The Gunny continued, "I mean…as much as I hate those fraking things, it was kinda hard to see something so…pathetic."

President Roslin spoke, "How did this happen? How could an entire basestar just die like this?"

Sharon joined in on the conversation now, "I tried to access their mainframe, but the data had become so corrupted that all I could get was that a virus infected them and slowly spread throughout the ship. And when the first Cylons died and resurrected, the virus got into the resurrection system and infected all the spare units, meaning that all of them were destined to die over and over again until the bodies ran out."

"A virus? You mean like the one that shut down our defenses?"

"No, sir. This one was wasn't a computer virus. It was biological. But because Cylon technology combines biological and electronic elements, it infected everything. I think the doctors will be able to better explain what it was."

Roslin turned towards the two medical officers sitting at the table and Cottle, the more senior and more experienced of the two, looked down at some of the papers in front of him before speaking, "Tests done on the blood samples taken from some of the dead Cylons show that there was a case of viral encephalitis going around that ship."

"What is encephalitis, Doctor?" Roslin asked, wanting clarification.

"It's an acute inflammation of the brain most commonly caused by a viral infection, Madame President. Most humans built up a natural immunity to the viruses that cause it centuries ago, and there are effective treatments available for the few people who do become infected."

"Is it fatal to humans?"

"If left untreated, it can be, yes. Since we couldn't get any bodies to examine, I can only assume that the Cylons died because the brain inflammation caused their brains to swell against their skulls and that the resulting brain damage killed them."

The President perched her reading glasses on her nose to turn to a page in the report handed to her that had caught her eye.

"And you wrote in your report that Lieutenant Agathon wasn't infected because although she is a Cylon herself, the hybrid blood from her pregnancy rendered her immune?"

"Yes, Madame President."

"Thank you, Doctor. Now, what about this device that you all found that wasn't Cylon technology."

Racetrack, who had led the away mission, grabbed a remote and brought up a picture of a black cylindrical object about the size of a ship-to-ship missile on the screen. "We found it in what Lieutenant Agathon called the main control room. It was broadcasting a simple proximity alert signal. Long range, low intensity, and very low frequency. Almost at the very limit of what can be picked up on the wireless. It's something you would find only if you were looking or it or by complete accident."

"Why would something like this be so for out in deep space?"

"We're still working on that, but we're pretty sure that the virus came from this thing. Doctor Cottle has it in a sealed off room and we're waiting for him to declare if it's still dangerous or not."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Edmondson…I believe that covers everything today. Is there anything anyone would like to add?"

Sharon had something: "Sir, I can't be sure about this because I could only get small fragments of information, but I think that the Cylons know about this virus. A distress signal was sent out but I couldn't find any records of a reply. I can only assume that they were afraid of what the virus could do and moved all the ships in the vicinity out of broadcast range from this basestar because the infection could spread through the data stream to the entire fleet."

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested the sizable nugget of information.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Roslin finally said. "Is there anything else, anyone?"

There was none.

"Then I believe this meeting is at an end."

Roslin stood up and the entire room snapped to attention. "Admiral."

"Madame President."

Once the president was gone, Adama turned to the group and said, "Remember that the nature of this meeting is top secret. You're all dismissed except for Commander Adama. If you would stay behind, please."

Kara turned to Lee with a puzzled look on her face, and he could only shake his head to show that he had no idea what his father wanted.

"I'll wait for you at the Raptor," Kara said quietly, giving Lee's hand a soft squeeze.

He squeezed back. "Okay."

Once everyone had left, Lee turned back to see that Adama had sat back down.

"You wanted to speak to me in private, sir?"

Adama gestured for his son to take a seat as well.

"There's something on your mind," the Admiral said as Lee parked himself on the conference table. "Let's hear it."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I've been looking at you throughout the meeting, Lee. I know that look. You have an idea and you're trying to figure out a way to frame it before you tell me. Spit it out before you completely sanitize it."

Lee hesitated for a moment before he opened his mouth. This idea was out there by any standard. Even Starbuck's.

"We could use this, Dad."

Adama leaned back in his chair, immediately understanding what Lee was talking about.

"You mean the virus? Germ warfare?"

"Yeah."

"That's a pretty drastic step, son."

"The Cylons don't know that we have this virus. We can infect them, start a cascading effect throughout their entire fleet and it would end this war once and for all. No more running."

"You're talking about committing genocide."

Lee shook his head at that. He saw things differently, "They nuked innocents on twelve worlds. Then they came after us and occupied a thirteenth planet. And Sharon told us herself that everything the Cylons create is geared towards war nothing else. It would be a preemptive strike against an armed enemy that _will _attack us indiscriminately without warning and without provocation."

"Even if it does turn out to work, there's a flaw in your plan."

Both men sighed. There was a flaw. A big one.

"Yeah…we don't have an infected Cylon."

* * *

**The lack of feedback is getting depressing.**

**Click on that review button down there and tell me what you think!  
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	27. Chapter 27

**I uploaded the wrong file. Story's essentially the same, but there are a few changes.**

* * *

Lee sat in the empty passenger area on Colonial One that normally held civilizations last remaining journalists, waiting to be let in past the curtain and into the President's office.

As he waited, he took note of how different the executive liner felt now that Roslin was back on board. There was an ease about the way everyone on board moved and worked-as if the rightful person was occupying that seat behind the presidential desk.

'_And yet,_' he thought somewhat sardonically as he remembered the brokering that took place so that Roslin could step back into power, '_she can't get elected in her own right._'

"Commander?"

It was Tory Foster, the President's aide, pulling him away from his thoughts.

"Yes."

"The President will see you now."

"Thank you."

He stood up and walked past the slight woman, through the curtains and into the presidential office.

Roslin rose from where she sat behind her desk and walked around to meet Lee with her hand extended. "Commander. Come on in."

He took the President's hand and shook it. "Madame President."

"Please take a seat," Roslin gestured towards one of the couches that sat around a coffee table strewn with papers. "It really has been much too long since we last met like this. Would you like anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Tory, if you'll excuse us for the duration."

"Of course, Madame President."

They sat down as the advisor left and the president got straight to business.

"Let me guess…you're here to talk to me about the Raptor scouting missions."

"Yes sir."

"So, who am I talking to?"

Lee frowned at that odd question. "Excuse me, Madame President?"

Roslin leaned forward in her seat and said, "You are aware that you never formally stepped down from your post as my military liaison, aren't you, Commander? So who's here to talk to me? My advisor or the Commander."

"It's a little of both today, Madame President," Lee answered truthfully.

"Then please," Roslin leaned back into a more relaxed pose. "Let's hear what you have to say."

"Sir, I'm here to say that I don't think that it's wise for us to continue to the Raptor missions searching for additional beacons."

"And why not, Commander?"

"First and foremost, our fuel reserves, Madame President. At the current rate of fuel consumption, we're going to have to start scouting for tylium soon, and that will accelerate the rate at which we burn through the tanker ships."

"A valid point."

He continued: "Plus the long range missions and near constant jumping is taking a toll on the Raptor squadrons on both battlestars. We've begun putting Viper pilots into the rotation to keep these scouting missions going, but we need them in top form in case the Cylons return."

"All good points, Commander. But I'm still going to order that the scouting missions continue."

"Madame President, we can't even be sure if we're searching in the proper area of space."

"Yes, I read the report by Lieutenants Hoshi and Gaeta on the effect interstellar drift could have had on the beacon's location before and after the Cylons discovered it," Roslin shifted several stacks of paper to pull out a sizably thick folder. "Fascinating…although I must say that astrophysics-or basic physics for that matter-was never my forte, since I taught elementary school."

Lee opened his mouth to protest, but Roslin had anticipated his reaction and cut him off before he could get a word out.

"Don't you see the hope among the people, Commander?"

"Sir?"

"You weren't there on New Caprica, so you didn't see first hand just how low everybody's morale had sunk after the Cylons arrived and we didn't know if you were going to return."

Lee remained silent to see where the president was going with this.

"And after we were rescued, the people weren't much better, because now we're back on these ships. Even fewer of us left and crowded even more than before. And almost everyone had lost hope."

Roslin locked eyes with the young man to get her point across.

"It's not enough that we survive. We need something to live for…Your father taught me that, Lee."

They were silent for several moments, with Lee's silence mostly out of surprise at how personal Roslin had suddenly become. With the exception of a brief period of time the president had called him 'Captain Apollo,' they're relationship had always been formal, with proper use of titles.

"Now…if you'll excuse me," Roslin stood up and Lee immediately followed suit. "The Quorum delegate from Gemenon is due to arrive to try and convince me that religion should be a mandatory course in our school curriculum."

"Yes sir."

"Commander," Roslin said with a tone indicating that the meeting was indeed over.

"Madame President."

Lee turned and made his way to the curtain when Roslin called out.

"Oh, and Commander."

"Yes, Madame President?"

"I'll keep your suggestion in mind. But for the time being, the scouting missions continue."

* * *

The sound that greeted him when Lee stopped by his quarters while on the way to CIC after returning fro Colonial One was soft snoring; and he could see a pair of boots hanging off the edge of the bed. Those were attached to a body obscured by the partition that separated the sleeping area from the rest of the room.

He moved carefully so as to make as little noise as possible with his boots against the deck to see his wife sound asleep, looking completely beaten after her last trip out in a Raptor.

Judging from her position on top of the blanket, Kara must have fallen asleep the moment her body hit the mattress, and she was lying at an angle so that her body took up as much space as possible as she slept. She'd managed to push her flight suit down to her waist, revealing her sweat soaked tanks, before losing consciousness, but she was still more or less fully dressed. One arm was crooked under her head to act as a pillow while the other was splayed out to the side. Her hair was damp with sweat and falling out of the tie holding it back into a pony tail to leave damp strands stuck to her cheek.

Lee took a moment to assess the situation and tried to figure out a way to undress Kara and get her into a more comfortable position under the blanket without waking her up.

He began by rolling her over so that she was on her back with his arms beneath her body, which allowed him to lift her up slightly and lay her out straight onto the bed with her head on a proper pillow. As he did, the already loose hair tie fell off, letting Kara's hair fall all over the pillow.

Next came her flight boots and socks. The boots were placed neatly by the side of the bed, while the socks were tossed in the direction of the head, where their respective laundry hampers were.

Lee then grabbed the bunched up fabric around Kara's waist and began shimmying the flight suit down from her hips when he noticed that Kara was wiggling her body to help him with his task. He looked up to see that she was somewhat awake and looking down at him through heavy lidded eyes.

With a bit of joint effort, the suit was quickly off and quickly hung off the back of a chair before Lee sat back down by Kara's side.

"Trying to take advantage of me?" she sleepily mumbled as she herself worked her tanks up and over her head.

Lee chuckled as the sweat soaked fabric fell to the deck. "You seem pretty willing."

"Hmm."

"Alright…let's get you under the blanket." Dressed only in her sports bra and panties, she was already shivering from the cool air hitting her skin,

"Dontwannamove." Yet she still rolled over to throw an arm over his lap and pressed her face against his hip.

"Nope," Lee gently pried Kara's arm off of him and stood to hunch over her supine form. "You're going under the blanket."

He tugged at the fabric from under his wife's body until it came free, draped it over her, and watched as she automatically curled up beneath it.

He kissed her softly on the forehead, tasting her salty skin, and moved to leave, but her hand came up from under the blanket and grabbed his, causing their wedding rings to clink at the contact.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah. Sorry. I just came in to drop off a file."

"No…Stay with me for a while."

Lee nodded and settled himself on top of the blanket, lying on his side so as to face Kara. Their fingers linked together as she scooted forward to close the gap between them as much as possible.

Despite the fact that he did have work to do, the decision to take a few minutes for himself and spend them with his wife was an easy one to make.

It had been over two weeks since they'd last seen each other for more than just a few minutes at a time. Some days it was just a quick peck or a touch as they passed each other, one coming in the other going out. She was busy organizing and flying scouting missions to find those other beacons the President was so keen on finding, while he had his own duties running Pegasus and handling the crews' various crises (he currently had the XO mediating a disagreement between the snipes and knuckle draggers to prevent a full blown feud from occurring).

Two weeks…

This was the longest amount of time since they began their relationship that their schedules did not match up, and it was hard on both of them. They weren't lovey-dovey like some couples, but they rarely spent any time apart. And the constant longing to be with each other that existed between them even when they were in the same room did little to help them cope with the stresses of their jobs.

Lee waited until Kara was snoring again before gently untangling his fingers from hers and slowly getting up so as not to make the mattress move too much.

He was halfway to the hatch when the phone began to ring.

"Fraking hell…" he dashed to the desk and grabbed the receiver. He nervously looked towards the sleeping area to see if Kara had been disturbed, but she kept on snoring, fast asleep.

"Adama."

"_Sir. We found a planet._"

* * *

**AN: It would be a complete downer if I got fewer reviews than last time. Come on guys. Let's see if we can keep the number of reviews at an all time high. Click that little button!**


	28. Chapter 28

Another planet.

Again with a breathable atmosphere and an environment suited for human habitation.

But this time, there was no eager undercurrent running through the population.

There was no talk about permanent settlement and rebuilding their lives on this new world.

Everyone had learned the hard way that settling down while the Cylons were still out there was just asking for trouble.

So there were no complaints when President Roslin opted for a more cautious tack, having the fleet hang back with Raptors making orbital surveys of the surface to find an optimal spot for foraging.

After the fiasco that had been the settlement dubbed New Caprica City, Roslin decided that this newly discovered planet would only be a brief stopover to replenish supplies before the Colonials continued on their way in search of Earth.

* * *

Adama was standing in Galactica's CIC going through the latest report on the foraging operations currently going on down on the surface of this new planet.

The first week was coming to an end, and the people down there had spent most of it working to determine which of the local flora and fauna would be the best to gather to replenish the Colonials' rapidly dwindling food supplies. Gathering was now beginning in earnest and the first supply runs were due to begin the next day.

Adama was wondering as to how these new foods would taste when Gaeta suddenly announced: "DRADIS contact. Raptor 225 has returned ahead of schedule from the far side of the planet, Admiral."

The Admiral was immediately put on alert, desperately hoping that Sharon wasn't coming in to report that the Cylons had found them.

Dee piped up from her station, relaying a message from Sharon to the Admiral.

"Sir. Athena is reporting that she'd been picking up a low frequency proximity signal on her wireless and is requesting permission to go and investigate further."

Every eyebrow in CIC rose at least a fraction of an inch at the implications of that message. Could it be that there was another beacon nearby?

Then Helo interrupted Adama's thoughts with another announcement before he had the chance to make a decision on the first issue.

"Admiral. I just got word from the hangar deck. The relief group is ready to board their Raptors and they're asking permission to take off and head down to the surface."

One development right after another.

'_Such is life on a battlestar_,' Adama though wryly to himself.

* * *

Why was it that they couldn't find a planet that had a properly temperate climate?

New Caprica had been nearly constantly cold and damp whereas this planet was so hot and humid that survival training in the tropical jungles of Picon seemed pleasant by comparison.

Those were the kinds of thoughts running through Kara's mind as she stood by one of the windows of the Quonset hut that had been erected to serve as base camp. She cursed her luck. Pegasus had lost the coin toss, so it was her crew that was in charge of the first week of foraging.

Normally, she wouldn't have complained about an opportunity to breathe real air and experience something more than the climate controlled interior of a spaceship, but the oppressive heat and humidity quickly lost their novelty after day one.

And it was another week away from Lee.

'_Three weeks_,' she thought to herself as she tried her best to wipe at the sweat rolling down her neck and soaking into her tanks. Three weeks of barely seeing her husband after spending barely more than a few days apart in the past three years was torture.

There was only a few hours left before Galactica's crew would come down with a fresh batch of civilian recruits and relieve them, and quite frankly, she was getting more than a little antsy with anticipation.

A nice long shower with Lee scrubbing her back sounded heavenly right about now.

The Quonset hut's door opening and closing brought Kara out from her fantasies. Petty Officer Kaplan had come in with a clipboard bearing the latest figures in their foraging expedition.

"What's the word, Kaplan?" Kara asked, accepting the clipboard.

"It looks as if we'll be able to take up a pretty good haul when we get out of here, Major."

"Okay."

"And the professor's gone off again."

The petty officer was referring to Max: a young man who had been working on his PhD in evolutionary biology before the original attacks and the closest thing that they had to an expert in figuring out what was edible. He also had a tendency to disappear for hours at a time before coming back with a new discovery.

"He's still running off and coming back with godsknowwhat?" Kara asked-her tone one of exasperated disbelief.

"Yes sir. The way he's running around and yelling-you'd think the guy has a permanent woody."

Kara shot Kaplan a look. As much as she enjoyed dirty jokes, she was just too hot and too close to the edge of losing her temper to really appreciate the enlisted woman's attempt at humor.

Kaplan winced before continuing to speak, "Sorry, sir…I know he comes off as a bit weird, but he was the one who found most of the local plant and animal life we ate on New Caprica. If it wasn't for him, we all would have starved after the farms failed."

Just then Max came running up from a path they'd cut to follow a river down to the coast, holding a bundle of very damp greenish-brown vegetation and yelling for everyone to come see what he'd found.

"What the hell has he got now?"

Kara mumbled a quick prayer to the gods for patience before she opened the door.

A large number of civilians and military personnel had dropped what they were doing to gather around Max and excitedly talk about what this new find was. Kara sighed as she opened her mouth to yell at the people to get back to work and to dress down the young man, yet again, for running off without telling anyone.

And as she went through actions that had practically become rote memory in the past week, a stray thought went through her mind: '_I wonder if this is what having children is like._'

Then: '_Where the hell did that come from?_'

* * *

"Well, in addition to the edible plants and the animals you already know about, the Professor is practically pissing himself over algae," Kara said over the wireless to Admiral Adama on the other end. She was sitting at the ECO's station in one of the Raptors they had parked on the surface of the planet.

Even through the wireless distortion, her father-in-law's confusion was clear, "_Algae?_"

"Yes sir. Or more specifically seaweed. The man's going on and on about how we should go out to sea and harvest as much of it as we can."

"_What for? Aren't the foodstuffs you found on land sufficient?_"

She became aware of the distant whine of Raptor engines as she spoke. The realization that she would soon be heading back up to Pegasus got her knee bouncing up and down.

"Yeah, sir…I suppose they are…" Kara said distractedly. She leaned out as far as she could in the ECO's seat and craned her neck to try and catch sight of the incoming planes. "You're really going to have to talk to Max about it. I'm usually lost three words into anything he says."

"_Alright. Galactica out_."

Kara quickly shut down the comms before practically leaping out of the Raptor.

"Okay, people! Let's pack it up and let the new guys handle things now."

* * *

Lee hadn't been available to scrub her back, but being able to wash off a week's worth of sweat and grime by herself still felt wonderful.

Kara dried herself off in the steam filled head, dropped the towel, and then walked out into their quarters. The light breeze from Pegasus' environmental control systems cooled the residual moisture on her naked skin, causing her to shiver. But she didn't even think about grabbing something to wear.

The crisp clean sheets and relatively soft mattress on their bed were just too inviting after spending long nights wide awake on top of a permanently damp, mildewed canvas cot.

Kara hit the lights and got into bed. The covers felt wonderful against her skin, and she shivered in delight at being able to slide into bed without something sticking to her.

Sleep was quick to take her.

She woke again several hours later when she tried to roll over and instead of finding more mattress, she hit a solid, warm mass of muscle.

She sleepily grinned as she let her hand wander up Lee's leg and up and under the t-shirt he wore to bed. She watched and felt him unconsciously shift closer to her in their bed, grinning wider as the arm around her waist pulled her body against his. The soft well-worn cotton of his t-shirt and boxers felt wonderful against her naked skin.

Lee's eyes blinked open as he became aware of the sensation of Kara rubbing herself against him and her hands traveling up his stomach to his chest, bunching up the fabric of his shirt under his armpits.

At first, he thought she was doing it in her sleep, but Kara pulled her face back from where it had been snuggled against his chest and their eyes met in the darkness of their quarters.

"Hey."

"Hi…"

That was all that needed to be said.

Lee raised his arms, letting Kara take his shirt off all the way, and then immediately brought them around her to pull her close as her hands went to work on pulling his underwear down. Flushed skin touched flushed skin sending the temperature of the air around them skyrocketing as lips met and hands wandered slowly.

There was no rush.

Tonight, they were going to get reacquainted with each other's bodies bit by bit.

And they did just that, moving slowly against each other; dragging out that exquisite torture until finally neither could take it any more and they let their passion consume them.

They moved faster and faster against each other, tasting and feeling, until the universe around them simply disappeared and it was just the two of them tightly clinging to each other and crying out in ecstasy.

Then all too soon, they were back in reality, in their bed, entangled in sweat-soaked sheets, but they couldn't have cared less.

They lay holding each other, unwilling to let sleep take them just yet, gently kissing and murmuring the words of affection that they had little chance to share in the past three weeks.

"Love you…"

"Love you too…"

* * *

**Yeah…I didn't need that last section. But who the frak cares?**

**Who's with me on this one? Let's hear it!**


	29. Chapter 29

**I thought my head was going to explode while working out the middle bit of this installment. I recommend that you try not to think too much as you read it.**

* * *

To Kara waking up in the morning usually meant spending a few precious moments enjoying the only bubble of true warmth that existed in all that was left of humanity.

Sitting up after spending a ridiculously muggy night staring at a corrugated metal ceiling really couldn't compare.

But this morning, Kara woke up feeling slightly chilly. She slowly blinked her eyes open and assessed the situation.

A quick visual confirmation showed her that Lee was indeed still in bed with her; sound asleep with his face tucked against her shoulder blade.

One solidly-muscled chest against her back. Check.

Two strong arms holding her close against said chest. Check.

Then what…?

Ah. Her feet, for one reason or another, were no longer covered by the blanket and exposed to the cold air of their quarters instead. That was a quick fix.

Kara gently eased her cold feet back under the blanket and instantly felt warmer, but she wasn't done yet. She bent her knees and angled her feet back until her big toes hit a pair of shins and began burrowing her feet between them.

Ah…that felt better.

For a second at least.

Lee jerked awake, gasping at the sensation of something extremely cold and wiggly making its way between his legs, and moved to get away before he realized that it was just his wife's feet looking for warmth.

He raised his head to see Kara looking amusedly at him over her shoulder.

"Good morning."

"Morning…"

Lee relaxed back onto the mattress and moved to find the comfortable position he had been in before Kara's feet had woken him. But Kara took advantage of Lee's shifting movements to roll over and more firmly press her feet against him even as she cuddled up closer.

"Do you really have to do that?" he asked as they looked at each other while nose to nose.

Their lips were barely brushing together as Kara answered, "You know I do. It was in our vows, remember?"

Chuckling, they closed that short distance between them and kissed slowly, almost lazily, as they usually did when they woke up together; savoring those last moments of complete privacy before their responsibilities dragged them beyond the hatch and back into the thick of things.

"Your hair's getting long," Lee observed as he gently stroked Kara's back. Her hair was brushing against the backs of his hands as they slowly ran up and down her soft skin.

Kara smiled at how inane her husband could be at times-and how much she loved him for it-but it was true: her hair was getting long, falling to the middle of her back. But she didn't really have any intention of cutting it anytime soon. She liked how it looked, even if she was beginning to have a hard time fitting her ponytail beneath her flight helmet.

"Yes it is."

She slung a leg over Lee's hip and hooked her knee so that they were pressed right up against each other and so that he could feel her arousal.

As much as Lee wanted to take this further, he tried to keep his wits about him even as he felt Kara's temperature rise and her hot breath against the skin of his throat.

"I wish we could take the morning off…" he said as he moved his hands lower down her back to still her gently undulating hips. But he only succeeded in pressing them closer together and letting Kara know that he was becoming increasingly aroused as well.

"Hmmm…" Kara purred contentedly against Lee's neck, moving harder against him and delighting in how he was beginning to grind up against her as well.

Lee tried to push Kara's hips back away from him, "But I've got an early meeting over on Colonial One and you have an air group to run."

"Hmmm…" now it was an annoyed moan and she dug her teeth into his flesh in protest. "How much time do we have?"

Lee quickly glanced at the clock and looked back into Kara's hazel eyes. "About thirty minutes."

Kara got that gleam in her eyes that told him that for better or for worse, he was going to definitely remember whatever it was that his sexy wife had just thought up.

"Wanna save water?"

* * *

He wasn't surprised that their shower took longer than thirty minutes, especially considering what they had done in lieu of spending most of that time washing.

But that didn't stop Lee from softly muttering a stream of curses as he hurriedly laced up his boots and buttoned up his jacket.

Kara, on the other hand, got dressed almost languidly, grinning widely as she did. In fact, she had only got her flight suit up to her hip when he moved to give her a hurried peck. And of course she had to let it fall to her ankles and grab his head to keep him for a few extra seconds before letting him go.

And that kiss was replaying itself on a loop in his head as he sat through a meeting with his father, the President, and her advisors; the opening topic being algae and seaweed.

"I don't see a downside to harvesting the stuff," one of the advisors was saying. He was a button down type-a retired college professor who had been on a cruise with his wife before the first exodus. "Seaweed is rich in nutrients. If we treat it and freeze dry it, we'll have rations that will last us for years. And it also makes great fertilizer, making my proposal of starting farms from the seeds we have saved on some of the ships much more feasible, Madame President."

Roslin looked at the professor and asked, "Now how long would it be before these farms would produce crops, Doctor?"

"Just a single growing season for the vegetables. But it will take years before we can harvest fresh fruit because we only have fruit seeds and not plants."

"Fresh fruits and vegetables would be good for morale, Madame President," somebody else, Lee had never seen the person before, added.

The discussion then turned to algae and how it would help with the inefficient water recycling systems on the ships that had not been designed for deep space voyages.

Lee simply listened to what everybody else had to say, turning his head in the direction of the voices, occasionally driving his thumb into the pressure point on the back of his hand mostly to drive thoughts of Kara out of his head and to stay awake in the midst of an incredibly boring conversation he had no expertise in. He perked up only when he was asked how the Pegasus' water levels were. To which he answered that they just needed to top off from the planet and they would be fully laden with fresh water.

Soon after that, the President dismissed the civilian advisors and it was just her and the two officers. Roslin looked at the Adama men and immediately got to business.

"Now, gentlemen. Onto the main reason why I called you over. Admiral? I believe you have news."

"Yes, Madame President." Adama shifted in his seat to sit a little straighter as he opened a folder he'd brought with him. "As you are already aware: yesterday, Lieutenant Sharon Agathon was making an orbital survey on the far side of the planet when she picked up a signal on her wireless."

"Much like the proximity signal from the beacon found on that basestar?"

"Yes. So I ordered Raptors from both battlestars to start a search pattern, and as of this morning, we have found four beacons floating out in space."

"And this would bring the total to five, correct?"

Lee spoke up, "Correct, Madame President. I had Lieutenant Hoshi plot out the positions of these beacons in relation to the planet we're currently in orbit of. The four that we found are spaced relatively equal distances apart with the exception one sizeable gap. We're currently assuming that the beacon the Cylons found was originally in that gap."

Roslin looked up from her own copy of the report they were all looking at. "And you're saying that these beacons roughly form a circle with the planet in the middle?"

"Well…yes and no, Madame President." Lee paused for a moment to figure out a way to explain how everything was currently positioned. Even as a seasoned combat pilot, he had a hard time explaining spatial relations in layman's terms.

Then Lee got it. He raised his left hand and joined his forefinger and thumb to form a circle and held his hand so that the President could clearly see the shape he was making.

"This is the current positioning of the beacons, Madame President." He then raised the forefinger of his right hand so that the tip appeared in the middle of the circle. "And this is the planet. Although it appears that the planet is in the middle, it's not really."

Lee rotated his improvised visual aid to show that in reality, his hands were several inches apart.

"The beacons are far out enough so that they're not even technically in the planet's orbit," Adama added. "They all have integrated RCS thrusters and guidance systems that keep them in a steady position relative to the planet instead."

Roslin nodded. "I see…Now what is this about the beacons' signals intersecting with the planet?"

Adama answered, "Simply put, the beacons each emit a signal in a spherical pattern and all the signals intersect on an area of about a hundred square kilometers on the planet's surface."

"And do we know anything about this area?"

The Admiral produced several recon photos taken by Raptors making fly-bys over the area.

"Aerial recon photos don't show much. It's more sparsely wooded than the area surrounding it, but the vegetation has grown enough so that if there is any sign of human intervention, it's been covered."

"So it's not like Kobol and its temples. No major ruins that can be seen from the air."

"No, Madame President. It doesn't seem as if this planet was inhabited for very long, if at all."

"So it might have just been a rest stop for the thirteenth tribe while on their way to Earth. Like we're doing now."

"That is a possibility, yes. I can have an expeditionary team down there by this time tomorrow. It will take some time to thoroughly investigate this area, though."

"Does it look as if we're in a rush, Admiral?" Roslin waved her hands as if to say 'take a look around gentlemen.'

"We have a long way to go before our food supplies are fully replenished.

Adama leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath before speaking. "Then I recommend that before we embark on any sort of expedition in this area, that we mark the beacons' positions and disable them so that they're no longer broadcasting."

Roslin turned her head to look at Lee. "Commander?"

Lee sat up a bit straighter and said, "I concur, Madame President. We don't want the Cylons jumping in on us. Especially at a time like this."

"Very well then."

* * *

Lee decided to make a quick stop by the hangar deck after his shift in CIC ended that day to see what sort of new foodstuffs they were going to be eating in the foreseeable future.

Walking along the upper catwalk towards the ladder, he could see that a section of the deck had been cordoned off as a sorting area, guarded by a few marines dressed in their khaki duty uniforms rather than their black fatigues. There was a large pile of what looked like fruit being tended to by civilians from the refugee camp in Pegasus' cargo bay. It wasn't just adults working on the pile though. Even from a distance, Lee could distinctly see children, some of them quite small, running around within the cordon.

He made his way across the deck nodding and acknowledging greetings from the crew as he passed by (he had a standing order not to call attention on deck in the hangar) and was soon by the cordoned off area. The marines had not noticed him coming-they had their backs to the rest of the deck, and were focused solely on the civilians instead.

"Corporal," Lee addressed the NCO in charge of the detail and watched amusedly as the young man jumped in surprise.

The Corporal snapped to attention even as his gaze whipped from his CO to the children running around in front of them. "Commander! Oh! About the kids, sir... Uhm…they were getting kinda restless in the cargo bay, sir…so I thought that-I mean, we're not forcing them to work or anything-they're just having some fun, sir."

Lee waved his hand to calm the guy down. "It's alright, Corporal. As long as they're not in any sort of danger."

"Oh no, sir. We're all watching the children like hawks, sir."

"Good."

As the two men were talking, someone on the other side of the pile of fruit perked up at the sound of Lee's voice and popped her head over the side to make sure she heard right.

Lee saw the blonde curls popping up out of the corner of his eye just before it turned into a blur that made a beeline for his legs.

"Hi, Lee!" the blur yelled out just as it made impact.

"Hey, Kacey!" Lee gently eased the little girl's constantly surprising grip off of his pants legs and knelt down so that they could look at each other.

She was happily smiling today, unlike the first time they met, and the juice stains around her mouth showed that she obviously had been sampling some of the fruit in the pile.

"What are you doing here?" Lee asked.

"I'm helping out…"

"Really?" he reached out and tapped a finger against Kacey's chin. The juice stains were still slightly damp and just beginning to turn sticky. "Are you making sure that everything tastes okay?"

"Uh huh," Kacey giggled before an idea came up in her head. "Wait right here. K?"

And she was off, running past her mother, who had been on the way to join them, to the pile, looking for something she had enjoyed and wanted to share with her friend.

In the meantime, Lee stood up and greeted Kacey's mother. "I'm sorry about Kacey bothering you, Commander Adama. You're probably really busy."

"Oh, no…I just got off duty and-"

He never got to finish his sentence as Kacey came barreling back and shoved something bright red and flecked with yellow into his hand.

"Here!"

Lee smiled as he looked at the fruit Kacey had picked out just for him and then smiled wider at the sight of the little girl jumping up and down waiting for his reaction.

"Thank you. I'm going to take this back so that I can share it with Kara. Okay?"

"K." Kacey gave him a toothy grin as she waved goodbye.

* * *

Kara was already in their quarters going through a stack of paperwork when he got back. She was going to ask why he was late coming back, but she saw the bright skin of the fruit standing out in stark contrast to the drab blue of Lee's uniform. It was obvious that he decided to stop by the hangar bay on his way home.

And he'd just happened to have picked something she'd enjoyed immensely during her week on the surface.

"Ooh! I love those," she exclaimed as Lee made his way to the couch. "They taste like really sweet plums."

He sat down beside her and looked at the fruit in his hand distractedly, making no indication that he had even heard what she'd said.

Kara nudged Lee with her elbow until he turned to look at her. "You got just one? You really need to learn how to exert your authority, Commander."

"Oh," he looked back at the red orb he was holding. "Kacey gave it to me."

Kacey?

Oh! That lost little girl they'd taken back to her mother.

"I didn't know you were going to stop by the cargo bay."

"I didn't. She was on the hangar deck. Her mother was working sorting the fruit that was brought up from the surface. She saw me and picked this out from the pile just for me."

"I wouldn't know who was working on that this afternoon. I didn't leave my office after lunch. So Kacey picked this out for you, huh?"

"Yeah. She's a sweet kid."

Kara couldn't exactly classify the smile that spread across her husband's face, but there was something that made her tremble with some kind of nervous excitement as Lee took a bite out of the fruit a little girl had given him and then held in front of her face for her to have a taste.

They were heading somewhere together, she mused as she chewed on her bite of fruit.

There was still a part of her that was urging her to bail as soon as possible. But that part was shut up more easily than ever now. She was in a good place, with a man who loved her unconditionally. And an even larger part of her was eager to see what was in store for them, even if neither of them were fully willing or able to admit what they hoped the future would hold.

Lee's tongue sliding against hers, tasting of plum, as he pulled her up to straddle his lap.

She was more than willing to admit that she wanted that (for the moment at least) as Lee leaned in to press his lips against hers.

* * *

**Yup. Kacey's back . What did you guys think?**

**BTW: I'm hoping to hit at least 300 reviews by Chapter 30. Care to help me in achieving this goal?**


	30. Chapter 30

**FULLMETAL: This story carries the AU label for a reason. The original storyline is just a jumping off point for me.**

* * *

Three days after Adama put boots on the ground to explore where the beacons' signals intersected, the expeditionary team's status report included something more than a description of the scenery.

"_We found an orchard, Admiral. It's gone wild, but it's a gods damned fruit orchard, just like the ones we had on Leonid."_

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes sir, I'm sure. I worked as a fruit picker in high school before I joined the service. And these things are almost exactly like what we had back home. Only problem is that none of the fruit are ripe."_

Adama recalled the meeting he'd had on Colonial One earlier in the week and how that professor had proposed the starting of farms on the some of the ships.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out. Is there anything else?"

"_Yes sir, and it's a biggie. We found a cave at the base of a hill, Admiral. It's been carved into the rock and there are markings all over the walls and on the floor as well. Some of them look familiar but I never really paid attention in history class."_

"Can you describe them to me?"

"_Well…when you enter the chamber, there's a carving of a circle about three meters in diameter surrounded by a ring of five smaller circles…and we really couldn't get a good look at anything else, sir. I'd like to request proper lighting equipment so that we can properly explore this place."_

"Done. The lights will be down with the next Raptor. How far is this site from where you landed?"

"_About a 90 minute hike, sir. There are too many trees to properly land our birds any closer to this place."_

"If we send down a demolitions kit, could you blow a landing site?"

"_Yes sir, we could, but it would still be a ways away to avoid damaging the fruit plants."_

"Do the best you can."

* * *

Lee tagged along with Kara when she drew the short straw and had to do the donut run several days later. There was no real reason for him to go down to the surface, but he wanted to see this cavern for himself.

As it turned out, it wasn't a cavern. Under the light of the work lamps set up throughout the chamber, it was obvious that he was standing in the middle of a manmade structure built from humongous slabs of stone. It must have been covered with tons of soil to give it the appearance of a hill in the many centuries since it had been built.

Kara came in with him for a few minutes and together, they examined the symbols carved into the stones, careful not to bother the priest and priestess who were working on interpreting the symbols, although Lee didn't think that there was any real religious significance to them whatsoever.

They walked around the outer edge of the chamber, following the twelve star signs carved into the walls. They were just like the symbols they saw on Kobol, each one representing a colony from back when they were still known by their old names.

Aries.

Taurus.

Gemini.

Cancer.

Leo.

Virgo.

Libra.

Scorpio.

Sagittarius.

Capricorn.

Aquarius.

Pisces.

Symbols of a history that the pessimist in Lee believed would be lost in less than two generations-if they even made it that far.

After they completed one circuit of the chamber, Kara left to supervise the loading of the cargo containers they would be taking back up to Pegasus, but Lee decided to stay behind for a little while longer. He tugged at the zipper of his flight suit, even though it was already all the way up, to try and prevent the cold air of the chamber from seeping in and chilling him even further.

He walked towards the center of the chamber, looking at the symbols on the floor as he did. This time though, he was looking at the stone floor and the symbols carved into it. There were many, beginning with the large circle surrounded by a ring of smaller circles and made his way inwards.

It was the beginning of a spiraling path and twisted around the floor of the chamber. If one happened to follow this path, they would have seen that they were following a series of rings, each one made of five circles, and without the larger circle in the center like the symbol at the entrance, and that each ring got smaller and smaller until the path ended at a stone table or altar in the middle of the chamber.

Like the rest of the chamber, this table was circular in shape and the flat top was carved with nine concentric circles, like the rings of a tree. Lee looked at the rings on the table, trying to figure out what they meant. He was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped, completely startled, when a hand softly pressed against the inside of his elbow.

Kara jerked back in surprise herself when her husband reacted so suddenly to her touch, but they both recovered quickly.

"We're all loaded up," she said softly. "Let's get out of here."

Lee nodded and Kara put an arm around his waist to guide him out, only to discover that maybe he had been in this chamber for too long without proper clothing.

"Lords, you're shivering. Come on."

Kara tugged on Lee's arm and pulled him towards the tunnel that would lead them out.

They walked out into the heat of the outdoors together and simultaneously reached up to unzip their suits. It was getting late and the sun was just beginning to touch the tree tops. Some distance away, two groups of civilians were scrambling to uproot a couple of trees in the fading light, so that they could be prepped to be taken up and planted on one of the freighters.

"How're you feeling?"

"Warmer."

That was an understatement. They were now only dressed in their tanks from the waist up and were both sweating profusely from the sudden change in temperature.

They walked away from the hill and towards the marked path that would lead them to the landing site.

"So what are we taking up?" Lee asked, wiping sweat from his brow and wiping his hand on his outer tank.

Kara replied, "Half a dozen saplings and three crates of high quality dirt to the _Eleanor's Pride,_ then back home."

"Dirt?" Lee looked over at Kara and quirked an eyebrow, trying to see if she was joking, but she wasn't.

"Yup," she said. There wasn't even the customary twinkle in her eyes that said that she was bullshitting him.

"Okay."

They kept on walking for a few more minutes before Kara suddenly tightly gripped Lee's hand and brought them both to a complete stop. They were on a planet, and it had been over a year since they'd seen a sunset together. It was one of the few things she missed about their trips to the surface back on New Caprica.

She took a quick look at her watch and made some quick mental calculations before she began tugging Lee back towards the hill at a fairly brisk pace.

She smiled at the inquisitive look on Lee's face, but only said: "We're running ahead of schedule. Let's take our time."

* * *

**AN: Such a milestone chapter and I'm stuck posting a set up. Sometimes it seems as if the gods of exposition really hate me. **

**What did you think? Do you like the direction I'm taking this story? Or should I dial it back a bit and stick more closely to canon?**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: I tweaked this here and there. **

**And you may or may not want to take another look at Chapter 30. I did a small rewrite to try and make the description of the carvings a little more clear.**

* * *

It was getting late, at least according to Pegasus' internal clock, and Lee and Kara were getting ready to go to bed.

Kara was in the head while Lee was standing by the desk, flipping through photographs taken of the chamber interior. He wasn't trying to decipher the meaning of the symbols by himself. They had a handful of clergy and scholars working on that.

No, this whole discovery had him thinking about something completely different.

"Hey…" Kara's arms snaked around his neck as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "Are you still looking at those photos?"

"Yeah…I've just been doing some thinking."

"About what?"

"About what might have happened if we hadn't been the ones to find this place."

"You mean if the Cylons found the chamber before we did? We'd probably never be safe anywhere in the universe."

Indeed, the brass (including Lee) was teetering on the edge paranoia about what would happen if the Cylons even came close to the planet.

President Roslin, following the advice of Admiral Adama, had ordered the four beacons found in space to be disabled and brought onboard Galactica and also had the chamber in the hill wired with explosives so as to leave as little trace behind for once the Colonials left.

But although possibilities regarding Cylons did cross his mind, Lee had been thinking more philosophically. A luxury that he had very little chance to indulge in since they'd fled New Caprica.

"We're going to leave soon," Lee said. "And millions of years down the line, sentient life might evolve down there."

Kara nodded slowly. "Okay…" she drew that word out, not really knowing where he was going with this train of thought.

"And things are going to be left behind, just like on New Caprica. Ever wonder what whoever it is that discovers our artifacts will make of them?"

Her answer was immediate: "Not really."

"Maybe something like: 'What kind of mystical beings would leave such things behind for me to find?'"

"Lee…" She wanted him to stop, not liking where this was going.

But he kept on talking, apparently not noticing that he was heading into dangerous territory. "I mean…maybe that's what the gods were. Just people like us…looking for a new home and stopping by planets for supplies and marking the way for those who followed. Leaving behind bits of their civilization for us to discover and interpret in our own primitive way."

"Lee…" He turned and finally noticed how Kara was glaring at him. Realization at what he had just done-how he had just affronted his wife's beliefs-rushed across his face. "Don't blaspheme."

"I'm just saying…"

"Well I'm not having it."

But before this could escalate into a full-fledged fight, klaxons began blaring and the officer of the deck's voice came across the PA system: _"Action Stations. Action Stations. Set Condition One throughout the ship. Action Stations. Action Stations…"_

They were both up and moving, shedding their sleepwear as they rushed to their lockers to get dressed. Lee was done first, and he headed towards the hatch while buttoning up his jacket. But before he could rotate the handle, Kara's angry voice called out over the klaxon.

"Hey!"

'_Shit.'_ This one was probably going to last awhile. He turned to see Kara in the process of working her arms into her flight suit.

Kara was unusually restrained as she said through clenched teeth, "We'll talk about this later."

Lee was sure that when they did, it wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

"Commander on deck!" the OOD called out when he saw Lee walk in through the rotating entrance to CIC. Crew members were scrambling all around the tight space as the entire crew ran in and assumed their stations.

"Keep on working. What have we got?"

"Four basestars just jumped into orbit above us, Commander," the OOD reported as he moved to stand beside his CO. "So far, they haven't done anything. They haven't moved into weapons range or launched Raiders, sir."

"Fleet status?" Lee asked.

"Still waiting for jump calculations from Galactica and there are people still on the surface."

"Alright-"

But before Lee could get any orders out, he was interrupted by a scream coming from the comms station.

"Ah!" The petty officer manning the console ripped his headset off like he had been burned and clutched his hands to his ears.

The OOD and Hoshi both rushed to the enlisted man's side.

"Okay, take him down to sickbay and get him checked," Lee ordered and the OOD ushered the petty officer to the entrance, motioning for a marine to take the man. "Hoshi, what the hell's going on?"

Hoshi brought the discarded headset to one ear and quickly pulled it away when he heard the shrill hissing emanating from it. He tapped at the keys on the console, rotating through the wireless frequencies, only to find that he got the same feedback with every one.

"We're being jammed, sir. The wireless is completely useless."

'_That means the pilots won't be able to communicate. They'll be slaughtered if I give the launch order…'_

"Call down to the hangar bay. Have them hold launch prep."

"Yes, sir."

'_Frak. The CAP's still out there.'_

The DRADIS display showed that his fighters were still flying a racetrack pattern around the fleet instead of flying off to try and take on the Cylons by themselves.

'_Thank the gods for small favors.'_

By now, the XO was in CIC and standing across from Lee at the chart table.

"We could move in closer, sir," the XO suggested. "Take out the one that's jamming us."

Lee shook his head at that idea. "For all we know they're all doing the jamming. We can't properly coordinate with Galactica, and they can't broadcast jump coordinates. We'd be putting everyone at risk…but…" an idea came into his head. "That doesn't mean we can't get ready though."

He turned to look at a station down the line. "Weapons status?"

The weapons officer looked up from her screen to report: "Gunnery crews are ready and standing by, sir."

"Good. Load all batteries with flak rounds. Stand by for suppression fire. Full spread."

"Yes sir."

"Helm."

Lewis snapped to from where he had been reading the displays over the helmsmen's shoulders, "Sir!"

"Rotate the ship. Bring all mainline batteries to bear on the Cylons."

"Yes sir."

'_Alright…it's their move now.'_

As Lee watched the screen displaying Pegasus' spatial orientation show him how his ship was moving, the entrance to CIC rotated open with a hiss. In stalked Kara, her mussed hair telling him that she had been sitting in her Viper waiting for the launch order that he never gave.

"Why are my Vipers sitting on the hangar deck and not in the tubes, Commander?" Kara asked while standing right up next to him at the chart table. She barely hid her annoyance at not being allowed to launch.

This was the last thing he needed: a volatile combination of pissed-off wife and rebellious CAG.

"The Cylons are jamming all wireless transmissions, Major," he replied, refusing to flinch when their eyes met. "No one's going out until that's been taken care of."

Kara's mouth twitched in reaction to that news. "Any idea how long that will take?"

"Hoshi's working on it."

As if on cue, the man they had just been talking about called out from where he was working at the comms station. "Commander?" the lieutenant's voice was laced with incredulity. "You're going to want to listen to this."

With that, Hoshi flipped a switch to turn on the speakers in CIC. All activity jerked to a halt as the familiar, sanctimonious voice of Gaius Baltar came filtering through: _"Hello, everyone. How nice it is to see you all once again."_

* * *

**Over a hundred people have this story on one list or another, yet the number of reviews has not just gone down. It's dropped by half.**

**C'mon, guys! Throw a poor fic writer a bone here.**


	32. Chapter 32

"_Hello, everyone. How nice it is to see all of you once again."_

Holy frak…Gaius Baltar.

Kara looked around CIC to see that everyone's expressions contained various mixtures of shock and incredulity. The people had thought that Baltar was dead, but here he was, sending a voice transmission to the people he was once the leader of.

"_I hope you've all been well in the months that I've been away."_

Sweet fruits of Demeter, the man was talking as if he had just come back from vacation. Kara turned to see what Lee was making of this, but he had suddenly gone halfway across CIC and was motioning for Hoshi to join him by the comms station.

"_Please. Do not be alarmed. We have not come to attack you. We are merely here to talk."_

Lee blocked out the former president's voice so that it was nothing but background noise and leaned in to talk to Hoshi quietly. "They stopped the jamming in order to broadcast, right?"

Hoshi brought the comms station headset up to one ear and cycled through the various frequencies. This time, there was no squealing feedback from the Cylons' jamming their wireless signals. "Yes sir," he answered.

"Good," Lee nodded. "Get a sitrep from the CAP."

"Yes sir," Hoshi flipped several switches to turn to the correct frequency. "Viper 117. Pegasus Actual is requesting a sitrep…understood. Standby Viper 117."

The lieutenant turned to face his commander and said, "CAP is reporting that they are almost bingo fuel, sir."

Lee took but a moment to run through his options before making a decision. "Bring them home. Don't launch replacement fighters."

"Yes sir. Pegasus to Viper 117 and Viper 205: Come on home. Repeat. Come on home."

Kara watched from the chart table as Lee finished whatever he was doing with Hoshi and walked back to where he had been standing next to her and went back to listening to what Baltar had to say.

"…_and as such, I would like to request a meeting with whoever is the current President of the Colonies and Admiral Adama."_

* * *

Some time later, a Heavy Raider was brought down into Galactica's hangar bay, where heavily armed marines stood at the ready with their guns aimed squarely the hatch and fingers on the triggers.

A mechanical whine filled the deck as the hatch began to open and everyone took a step back, half expecting an entire squad of Centurions to come marching out guns blazing.

But there were no Centurions.

Just a slightly built once perfectly-coifed-now-extremely-scruffy man walking down the ramp like a triumphant hero returning from battle.

"Please put your guns away," Baltar said loudly, waving his hands as if the assembled marines would obey his command. But when they didn't, he turned his attention to where Roslin and Adama were standing behind the armed men and women, glaring at him. "I come alone in a gesture of goodwill."

* * *

Adama had the marines escort Baltar to one of the ships conference rooms. The marines stood guard outside while the two men and Roslin went inside.

"Now I'm sure you're wondering how I made it off of New Caprica," Baltar began speaking without prompting. "And I must admit that it almost didn't happen because of your son, Admiral. The Commander turned out to be a brilliant tactician. He took out two basestars and disabled a third single handedly…the fourth-"

Adama cut him off, "Why are you here?"

Having had one rambling train of thought interrupted, Baltar launched into another one.

"Ah yes. Straight to business. Of course. Of course. Well. About a month ago, we picked up some sort of a signal on the wireless and in our curiosity; we began to search for the source. And when the signal mysteriously disappeared, we redoubled our efforts. I don't suppose either of you have any idea as to what happened to the signal do you?"

Adama was about to tell Baltar "No," but Roslin had picked up something in the man's speech that she thought she could use to her advantage.

"'We,' Doctor Baltar?" she asked in the tone of a schoolteacher to a naughty student. "Have you merely aligned yourself with the Cylons or have you discovered that you're one of the five models we've yet to discover?"

Baltar was immediately flustered, losing that carefully measured smarminess that he used to simultaneously charm and belittle. "We-we-well. Yes. I mean: no! I mean-"

Before the genius could form a coherent explanation, a chime sounded and an announcement came over the speakers: "_Admiral Adama to CIC. Admiral Adama to CIC. Pass the word to Admiral Adama: You are needed in CIC."_

Walking backwards to keep an eye on the blabbering doctor, Adama reached for the phone and called in to CIC.

"This is the Admiral. What's going on?"

Roslin kept on watching Baltar try to string two words together while Adama made the call.

"Madame President," Roslin turned her head to look at the Admiral. "A situation has come up that requires both of our attentions."

Nodding, Roslin joined Adama by the hatch. Baltar tried to join them, wondering what was going on, but the president turned to the marines standing guard and said, "He doesn't go anywhere."

"Yes Madame President."

"Are you going to hold me prisoner without charge?" Baltar yelled at them as he was held back. "You can't do that. I'm a Colonial citizen. I have rights!"

Roslin paused and turned around to look at the man. "You were declared dead by the Quorum of Twelve months ago. Technically, you don't even exist."

And she and Adama left Baltar standing there dumbly trying to make sense of that bombshell.

"The Cylons have sent Raiders down towards the planet." Adama said as they continued to walk towards CIC. "They're staying out of weapons range, but once they're in the atmosphere, they can pretty much fly wherever they want."

Including the hill and foraging site, he didn't have to add.

"Give the order blow the explosives and to evacuate the surface."

"Of course, Madame President. But it's going to be hard to do, since the Cylons resumed jamming our wireless transmissions."

"I don't care, Admiral. Find a way to get around that or use the fallback plan if you have to. I don't want the Cylons seeing what's in that chamber."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Pegasus' CIC, Lee's crew was looking at the reason why Adama had been called out of his meeting on the DRADIS screens.

"Commander," the XO informed Lee. "One of the basestars is launching additional Heavy Raiders. Four in total."

Lee observed as the blips moved away from the bigger blips representing basestars and asked, "Heading?"

"Looks like they're headed down to the planet's surface," came the answer.

'_Why the hell would they want to head down to the surface?'_ Lee wondered to himself._ 'I thought we got rid of everything that could possibly lead to the chamber.'_

"Range?"

The weapons officer answered from her station, "They're staying well out of weapons range, sir. It's too far. Even for our missiles."

'_Great.'_

Lee turned to the comms station. "Any change in the jamming?"

The replacement comms specialist just shook his head.

With nothing he could do without risking too many lives, Lee went back to staring at the screens, but Kara had questions.

"What are the people on the ground supposed to do if the Cylons land right on top of them? They only have the weapons in the Raptor survival kits."

"The field commander has orders to blow the hill and to get everyone out in the Raptors ASAP if the Cylons get too close."

"And if they can't?"

"We hold off the Cylons in orbit while Galactica nukes the site and we all jump out of here."

"Nuke the site? While people are still down there?"

The look her husband gave her told Kara all she needed to know.

"Dammit, Lee. There are people down there. _Real people_."

"Major. Now's really not..."

Oh no, he wasn't going to hide behind military protocol on this one.

"_Lee-_"

It was obvious that Kara wasn't about to let this go anytime soon, and he needed to resolve this immediate situation before Kara started a shouting match in the middle of CIC.

"Not here," Lee muttered quietly so that only Kara could hear. Then louder, "XO, you have the conn. Page me if anything happens before I get back."

The XO nodded. "Yes sir. I have the conn."

Lee then grabbed Kara's arm, spun her around and ushered her towards the exit.

"Let's go," he hissed in her ear, silencing the angry protest that was about to burst out.

* * *

"What the hell is your problem, Kara?" Lee asked angrily as he ushered her into his ready room.

Kara whipped around, her ponytail whipping around like an angry snake. "You're just going to let them be nuked? Just like that?"

"What do you mean 'just like that?'" Lee stepped forward to where Kara had stomped into the middle of the room. "Do you have any idea how much thought was put into even _thinking_ about making that decision?"

"And why wasn't I told about this?"

"It was 'need to know' only."

Kara's mouth dropped open when she heard that.

"I was down there for a _week._ Don't you think I needed to know then?"

"That was before we found that chamber!"

Their voices got louder and louder with each sentence they flung at each other. But the airtight hatch did an admirable job of keeping the crew outside from hearing them.

"And how's that different?"

"We didn't even have these protocols in place while you were down there!"

"So you're saying that you _would've_ nuked me if the order came?"

Lee raised his hand to point a finger at Kara as he yelled back, but stopped himself from answering as he realized that she was setting him up. "That's a trap, Kara. I can say one of two things and both of them will just make you angrier."

And as it turned out, adding a third alternative to an either-or situation was an even worse idea. Kara stalked off; ramming her shoulder into Lee's as she passed by him towards the hatch.

"Kara! Wait."

She stopped and turned to see what he had to say, but he didn't begin talking immediately. He had his eyes closed as he tried to sort through his thoughts, but he was taking too long for her liking.

Snorting in anger and annoyance, Kara was about to turn back, but Lee stepped forward to grab her by the shoulders. She looked straight at him, all the emotions in the angry side of the spectrum flashing in her eyes.

"Kara…" he said quietly. "This isn't going to make anything better, but if this situation had come up while you were on the ground…I'd have found a way to be down there with you so that we could figure a way out together. Nukes from Galactica be damned. And I know you'd do the same if I was down there and you were up here."

Her expression softened somewhat as they stood there, practically glaring at each other. The anger was real, but the undercurrent of passion between them was palpable as well. However, now wasn't the time and place to resolve this fight the way they wanted to.

"We've got work to do," Kara muttered, looking down at the deck.

Lee looked down at his boots. "Yeah."

"We'll talk about this after we get out of this mess."

"I know we will."

Kara suddenly unfolded her arms and grabbed Lee's face to pull him in for a hard kiss.

"And don't think I forgot about what you said earlier," she said once she let him go.

'_Fraking hell,'_ Lee thought as he followed Kara out the hatch and back to CIC.

* * *

**Did I go over the top with this? It's kinda hard to tell. What did you guys think?**

**I have no idea what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong if you don't tell me.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Note: CIWS (pron. See-whiz) Close In Weapons System. Those miniguns you see being fired from the battlestars in addition to the big cannons.**

**FULLMETAL: You're right. I should stop whining and keep on writing. Thanks for caring enough to set me straight. BTW, I hope you can tolerate a bit more Baltar. He's a hard character to write, but he's also extremely useful.**

* * *

At a loss on what they could do without having the situation blow up in their faces, Roslin and Adama returned to the conference room where Baltar was being held to try and get a better idea as to what the Cylons wanted.

"What interest do the Cylons have in the planet?" Adama asked with little fanfare.

"As I told you before, we picked up some sort of signal on the wireless and began searching for the source. What is going on with the planet, anyway?"

Roslin beganto speak, "We have people on the surface who were working to top off our food stores. And now there are Cylons on the surface, posing a threat to civilian volunteers."

Just then the conference room phone began to ring, and Adama moved to answer it.

"Adama."

"_Admiral," _came Karl's voice from CIC. _"The Cylons have launched more Heavy Raiders. They're still staying out weapons range, but they're taking a more direct course for the atmosphere. Destination appears to be the hill site, sir."_

Seeing Adama's face subtly turn troubled, Baltar realized that there were things more important than food on that planet.

"There's something down there, isn't there?" Baltar asked, gaining confidence. "If it was just food you were after, you would have simply launched a rescue mission to bring those people back. You've done more for much less before. You've discovered something on the surface. Something you don't want us to see."

Now was the time to walk away, before their opponent could pick up too much on what was going on. But it seemed as if the President had never actually played a game of Triad before.

"You said that Commander Adama took out three ships on his own," she said, full of confidence. "And that, apparently, was with Pegasus' systems severely hampered by electromagnetic radiation and a skeleton crew. We now have two battlestars fully crewed with systems intact. I can give the order and your friends will be gone and you'll be left alone to deal with a _very_ angry populace."

Adama lightly placed a hand on Roslin's shoulder and began to lead her out before the President revealed too much.

"You shouldn't have said anything," Adama muttered quietly to Roslin as they made their way to hatch.

But as they were exiting, Baltar began to speak again.

"I understand that you currently hold my fate in your hands, but listen very carefully to what I am about to say, Madame President. I know what you did with the hybrid child because I've seen her. I was the one who took her out of her dead adoptive mother's arms after everybody else left New Caprica. Hera is alive and on one of the basestars. I wonder what the Quorum and the people will have to say about that."

* * *

"Don't give me that look, Bill," Roslin snapped as she and Adama walked at a brisk pace down the empty corridors. "I'm not obligated to explain my decisions to you or anyone in this fleet."

"Be that as it may, you still knowingly took a child from her parents."

"I did what I thought was right. Nothing else."

Adama stopped to look at Roslin and saw the steely resolve in the President's eyes. He knew that he probably had done the same if he was in that position, but right now, he had just thought of a way to use the current situation to his advantage.

* * *

It was a waiting game for the crew of Pegasus. They had no idea what was going on the ground or over on Galactica or with the Cylons currently above them in orbit.

All they could do was continue doing their jobs, just waiting for the next move to be made.

Kara was having an especially difficult time. She was not used to spending long hours on her feet with her head tilted back to stare up at displays. Despite the fact that she was in great shape, her lower back was beginning to ache and there was a crick in her neck that had the possibility of leading to a major headache.

Tilting her head down to try and ease the strain on the muscles in her neck, Kara looked over at where her husband was quietly conferring with his XO.

This was really the first time she'd ever gotten a good look at Lee actually commanding his ship and he looked perfectly at home in his role. The man had been born to lead, no matter how much he had tried to deny it back when their worlds were still thriving, whether it be an air group, a battlestar, or even perhaps even the people of the Colonies of Kobol.

And as mad as she was at Lee at the moment, Kara couldn't help but feel a thrill of pride in knowing that he was hers and she was his.

* * *

Adama walked out into the corridor and back to CIC, having come out of a rather emotional meeting. He had no doubt as to what was about to happen once he walked a fair distance away from the room he'd just exited. He had gone in with a rather selfish intent in mind and was quite underhanded in subtly getting his point across.

Just as he was about to turn onto Galactica's main causeway, Adama heard the muffled pop of a gunshot.

And perhaps it was just his imagination, but he thought he could hear the sounds of a man sobbing.

Now it was just a matter of time before he knew if his manipulations would work or not.

* * *

Karl walked into CIC about half an hour after the Admiral did; barely acknowledging the fact that there was anyone else around him. He met Adama's knowing look with a haunted one of his own as he joined the Admiral by the chart table, and kept on rubbing his hands as if he was trying to wash off some unseen stain.

His thoughts were barely on the duties he had to carry out as XO of the Galactica but rather elsewhere when Dee called out from the comms station, "Admiral, the jamming just cut out. We can now broadcast on all wireless frequencies."

* * *

"Commander," the comms specialist called out. "The jamming suddenly stopped and Galactica is broadcasting jump coordinates to the entire fleet on a coded frequency."

"Civilian ships are beginning to jump away," Kara announced, somewhat happy in the fact that she was doing something more than just hanging around and being in the way.

"Thank you, Major," Lee acknowledged before loudly saying, "Comms, put me through to Galactica."

* * *

"Mr. Gaeta," Adama said. "Fire up the targeting computer and stand by to open missile tube doors."

"Yes sir."

"Admiral. Pegasus Actual is on the line."

"Put him through."

* * *

The XO looked at Lee as he replaced the handset in its cradle after having been filled in by his father, "What's going on, sir?"

"We're to take care of the situation on the ground while Galactica handles the Cylons."

"Sir?" the XO was baffled. Pegasus was in a much higher orbit than Galactica, and was in an ideal to cover the civilian ships as they continued to jump away.

But Lee just shot him a look, and the XO properly chastised, said "Yes sir."

Kara continued to look at the DRADIS and watched as blips continued to disappear. "Last civilian ship is away," she said.

Lee nodded and turned to the comms station. "Call down to the surface and get a sitrep."

"Yes sir."

A moment later, the specialist announced: "Sir. The Expeditionary Team leader is reporting that the Raptor they had been using to observe the Cylons has been shot down that they are currently using the chamber as a stronghold. They are pinned down, taking casualties, and can't make it to the other Raptors."

Kara seemed to have a solution. "We can launch the Vipers in the tubes. They can provide air support for the people on the ground."

But Lee didn't think that was the best option. "No," he shook his head. "It'll take too long for the fighters to enter atom and get to the proper location. It could be over before the pilots can even get there. Weapons!"

Kara's mouth dropped open in shock, and she subtly shook her head; pleading with her eyes for him to not do what she thought he was about to do. But Lee had another idea in mind.

"Prepare Portside Battery A for orbital barrage. Target the entrance to the chamber. Helm. Roll the ship accordingly."

"Yes sir," the two officers' voices chorused.

* * *

"Calculations complete. We have firing solutions for all four basestars, Admiral."

"Thank you Mr. Gaeta. Stand by for further instructions. Dee," Adama picked up a handset from the cradle on the chart table. "Begin broadcasting on all known frequencies. Let's see if the Cylons can hear us."

"Done, sir."

"This is Admiral William Adama. You will withdraw your units from the surface and leave immediately or else I will be forced to engage you. Rest assured that our two battlestars are more than a match and you will be destroyed."

Adama then replaced the handset and ordered, "Open missile tube doors."

* * *

"Radiological alarm!" Hoshi announced loudly. Then he added, surprised, "It's coming from Galactica."

Everyone but Lee looked up from what they were doing in shock. He knew that his father was going to focus all the Cylon's attention on Galactica while Pegasus took care of the Cylons on the planet.

"Focus, people," Lee urged. "You have jobs to do."

And everyone got back to what they were supposed to be doing.

"Portside Battery A is ready to fire in all respects, Commander," the weapons officer said soon afterwards.

Lee looked at the comms station. "Tell the people on the surface to take cover. It's going to be close."

"Yes sir. Pegasus to Expeditionary Team: take cover. Orbital barrage coming in. Danger close."

Then looking straight at the fire control station, Lee calmly said, "Fire."

* * *

The people taking cover in the hill had absolutely no idea what they were in for as two rounds from Pegasus' massive cannon drove into the ground at hypersonic speeds-one right after another-with deafening booms, sending dirt, shrapnel, and Cylon body parts flying through the air. The chamber deep within the hill shook with the seismic activity resulting from the impacts, and some of the stone actually began to crack from the abuse.

Once the noise and the shaking stopped, and only dust was floating in the air around them, one of the marines stood up to poke his head outside to see what had happened. All he could see were two large craters and dead or nearly-dead Cylons.

* * *

"Report from the surface, Commander: the Cylons are dead. Situation secure."

'_Holy frak.'_ Kara was surprised that Lee's plan worked. Orbital bombardment was not the most accurate method delivering munitions to a target and had been rarely used even during the heavy planetary fighting of the First Cylon War.

But Lee was currently more concerned with the situation at hand than history. "Tell them to blow the charges and get out of there ASAP," he ordered.

"Yes sir. Pegasus to Expeditionary Team: blow the charges and evacuate immediately. I say again: blow the charges and evacuate immediately."

"Transmit the jump coordinates to their Raptors. They are to jump out of there as soon as they gain enough altitude."

"Yes sir."

"Mr. Hoshi! Begin jump prep. We're out of here as soon as the Raptors are."

"Yes sir."

"Additional DRADIS contact!" Kara suddenly announced. "Looks like a Raptor. It's broadcasting a Colonial transponder signal."

"What?" Lee squinted at the DRADIS screen and saw that there was indeed a Colonial Raptor in the air. But there was no way that any of the Raptors on the surface could have broken atmo so soon. "Where's it coming from?"

"The nearest basestar."

Everyone was instantly more alert.

"Standby with the CIWS," Lee said.

"Sir, the Raptor is sending us a message."

"Let's hear it."

"_Pegasus. Athena. Requesting permission to land."_

Athena? Lee and Kara exchanged a look. Wasn't she supposed to be over on the Galactica?

"Sir?" the comms specialist spoke. "Should I transmit jump coordinates to the Raptor?"

The XO kept on looking at the DRADIS screens. "The basestar is launching Raiders to pursue the Raptor," he said.

"_Pegasus. Athena." _Sharon called out again over the wireless._ "I've got some trouble here. I could really use some help as well as permission to land."_

"Sir? What are your orders?"

"Don't transmit jump coordinates. Give her permission to land instead. Combat landing. We're jumping the moment she skids to a halt. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Acknowledged, Athena. You are cleared to land. Combat landing authorized."

Kara then turned the topic to the next pressing issue. "What about the Raiders?"

Lee glanced at his watch and back at the DRADIS. He timed the blip of the Raptor as it came closer and closer to Pegasus, and made the necessary calculations in his head before ordering the weapons officer. "Starboard batteries. Suppression fire. Execute now."

Flak rounds flew out of Pegasus' cannon, their fuses setting them off in the gap between Athena's Raptor and the Raiders to send out a cloud of deadly metal fragments to pierce the Cylons' hulls.

"Athena's on the deck, Commander."

"What about the other Raptors."

"Last one just jumped away, sir."

"Jump!"

* * *

Coming out from the jump on the other side, Lee wasted little time before jumping to deal with the sudden appearance of Sharon Agathon. Not fully trusting that it was the Sharon from Galactica, he began giving orders as he moved towards the exit to head to the hangar bay.

"I want armed marines on the hangar deck covering that Raptor as it comes in. XO, you have the conn. Major Adama, with me."

* * *

**Much of what occurs in Pegasus' CIC was originally written for the New Caprica rescue, but I cut it because I wanted to focus on Kara. I'm glad that I was able to adapt and expand it for my purposes here.**

**And here's a question for you guys: How do you threaten something that cannot die. If there is no ultimate ending, what's there for it to be afraid of?**


	34. Chapter 34

**Yup. I'm back and I decided to start off by doing a rewrite of this installment.  
**

* * *

The marines Lee had ordered were already in position when he and Kara practically slid down the ladder to the hangar deck. The Raptor was just being brought down on one of the lifts and the marines had cleared a wide swath of the deck so that they would have a clear shot if they needed to take it.

It was an odd looking rainbow, with a band of black followed by a kaleidoscope of orange, yellow, green, brown, and now the blue of Lee's uniform as he and Kara shoved their way to the front.

They could all clearly see Sharon in the pilot's seat, powering down the plane's systems, but some thought they could see movement in the back.

"I don't think she's alone!" one of the marines announced to everyone, which was followed by the clicks of safeties being flipped off.

The hatch began to open with a mechanical whine, and the Sergeant Major in command of the marine fire team, receiving a nod from Lee signaled for the marines to slowly advance.

The hatch opened all the way, and the only thing everyone could see clearly was Sharon, dressed in civvies, standing on the ramp with her hands out at her sides to show that she was unarmed.

The marine in the lead yelled out "Identify yourself!"

"Lieutenant jg Sharon Agathon," she said calmly. "Colonial Fleet Air Arm. Serial number: 07770774914."

A loud wail suddenly erupted from the Raptor's interior as one of the occupants heard the angry yelling and caught sight of the angry looking people dressed in black approaching.

Several of the marines were spooked and brought their weapons tighter against their shoulders.

"Wait! WAIT!" Sharon yelled, holding out her hands as if she could push the advancing marines with back by pushing at the air.

"Hold your fire!" the Sergeant Major commanded. But that did little to ease the tension on the deck.

Sharon gestured for everyone to stay put. "Just-Wait!"

She ducked back in to the Raptor and was inside for several long moments-during which many index fingers went from resting on trigger guards and onto the triggers themselves.

Everyone was beginning to prepare for the worst. Lee gently moved Kara behind him in what was probably a futile attempt at shielding his wife as she gently squeezed his hand to try and ease the tension, when Sharon came back out, holding a young child of about three close to her chest.

And behind them, was a tall blonde figure, hesitatingly following.

"Oh my gods," Kara whispered, from behind Lee's shoulder, recognizing the new arrival as one of the models she had fought on her trip back to Caprica.

"DON'T MOVE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE WITH YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"

The marines began to scream as they advanced to the small group. The child began to cry even louder as the group of identical looking people dressed in black encircled the small group.

Sharon tried to reassure everybody, but her protests fell on seemingly deaf ears.

"It's okay! She's with me! She's safe!"

Sharon tightened her arms around the child and tried to turn her body away from the immediate threat, turning herself into a shield. Lee recognized that move. He'd seen Kacey's mother do it when he brought the child back to the cargo bay, and it spurred hi into action.

"HOLD IT!"

The marines shut up at the sound of the Commander's voice and looked to where Lee was advancing to the group.

"Take them to the brig and hold them for now," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

And the sea of black swiftly began to move.

"Commander! Wait!" Sharon called out desperately as she was being escorted out. "Remember what happened last time!"

Lee sighed, remembering the disgusting reports he'd read when he assumed command of the Pegasus. There were men on the Pegasus that he didn't trust at all but still kept on board anyway because he needed the manpower.

He grabbed a female marine by the arm as she passed by and softly gave her an order so that only she could hear.

"Stay with the prisoners. If any man tries to do anything with them, shoot him. Nick him, maim him, or kill him. I don't care. Just shoot him before he can do anything."

The young woman's eyes widened at the order but she managed to stammer out, "Yes sir."

And she scampered off.

One issue handled for now, Lee turned his attention to the newly-arrived Raptor on his hangar deck.

"Chief of the deck!"

"Sir!"

"Check this Raptor out. Make sure that the Cylons didn't do anything to it."

"Yes sir."

He walked over to where Kara was standing, looking at him.

"Get this deck back in order. I've got a call to make."

"Got it."

* * *

Lee walked back into the hangar deck about forty five minutes later, wanting to take a closer look at the Raptor and to clear his head before going to the brig. He had just spoken with his father and gotten the facts on why Sharon ended up on a Cylon basestar, and was still reeling slightly at what the President had done.

The deck chief noticed Lee standing by the side and walked up to him to make a progress report: "We gave it a quick once over, Commander. Doesn't seem as if any modifications done to this Raptor, sir. It still had the Command Navigation Program installed, but that's been taken care of."

"Okay. Thanks, Chief."

Lee was about to walk away when something about the Raptor's markings caught his eye.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" the chief asked, noticing the far off look in Lee's eyes.

Snapping out of his reverie, Lee said, "Hmmm? No. Carry on, Chief." But there was a hitch to his voice.

Not wanting to pry, the chief merely nodded and moved to get back to work, but Lee suddenly called out, "Wait!"

"Sir?"

"Prep this Raptor for launch."

"But we haven't done a comprehensive check yet, sir."

"I'll take my chances. And call Starbuck. Tell her she'll be flying right seat within the hour."

"Yes sir."

* * *

The occupants of Pegasus' brig hadn't noticed Lee watching them from beyond the clear partition.

Sharon was playing with the child-Hera, her daughter-getting reacquainted after all those years of separation. The blonde Cylon, on the other hand was sitting on one of the bunks, focused squarely on the deck.

Stepping back from the ballistics glass, Lee nodded at one of the marines with him to let him through.

Both Cylons looked over to see who had come in. Sharon stood at attention and while Hera took refuge behind her mother's legs, wary of this new arrival. The blonde on the other hand merely gave Lee a glance before looking back at the deck.

"Lieutenant," he addressed Sharon.

She promptly replied, "Commander."

"I just got off the horn with the Admiral. Congratulations. You and your husband apparently just broke my wife's record of most regulations broken in a single day. I'm impressed."

Unsure of how to respond to that piece of information, Sharon could only keep her expression neutral and say, "Yes sir."

Hera, meanwhile, peaked around from behind Sharon's knees and was cautiously making her way around to stand in front of her mother's shins. Both Sharon and Lee noticed, and Lee slowly crouched down to be closer to eyelevel with the girl. Thanks to his interactions with Kacey, he was becoming more comfortable with children, although he had no idea if it was just with Kacey or if it was with all children in general.

"And who's this?"

"Hera, sir. My daughter."

"Hi there," Lee said with a smile.

Hera slowly approached Lee, reaching out with one pudgy arm before bopped him slightly on the nose with a laugh, and running back to her mother.

"Hera!" Sharon scolded as she scooped her daughter up. "We don't hit."

"She's never done that before," the blonde Cylon suddenly said. The two officers turned their heads to see that she was finally looking up from the deck. "She didn't trust anybody to even reach out to them on the basestar. Not even the models that look like her mother."

Sharon spoke angrily as she adjusted Hera in her arms, "That's because you don't understand emotional bonds. Cylons just think that everything can be interchangeable. Swapped out for replacement parts like on any machine. But guess what? Reality doesn't run that efficiently, does it?"

Lee had stood up by now and was gesturing for Sharon to leave the cell.

"Follow those marines to the hangar bay. You're not in my chain of command so you'll remain in custody until you can be formally charged on Galactica."

"Yes sir."

Sharon turned to her daughter and said, "Let's go, Hera. Time to see your daddy."

Once Sharon was gone, Lee turned his attention to the blonde Cylon. He noticed that she'd gone back to staring at the deck with downcast eyes after Sharon's tirade.

"Do you have a name?"

"I was known as Caprica among the Cylons."

Lee snorted slightly at hearing that. He found that as time went by, there was an ever-shrinking list of good things that could be associated with his home world. And a Cylon assuming that name would not be going up there.

"Now I'm going to ask you a question," Lee squatted down in front of Caprica. "Just one for now. Why do you have Colonial vessels on your ships?"

"Just in case."

"Just in case?"

"Yes."

Lee let out a softy incredulous laugh and stood up to leave.

Caprica followed Lee with her eyes as he walked away. "What's going to happen to me?"

"You'll be staying here for now until we figure out what to do with you."

He motioned with his hands to the pair of marine guards-both female-on the other side of the glass and one of them pressed a button to open the door while the other raised her weapon and kept it trained at the Cylon.

"You don't trust me," Caprica observed as Lee walked out.

Lee turned back and nodded his head in agreement. "I don't have any reason to."

* * *

Lee walked back onto the hangar deck after having left his Cylon prisoner. Sharon and Hera were already waiting, being guarded by two marines.

The Raptor from the Cylon basestar was sitting on the deck, waiting to be loaded. Kara was already inside performing preflight checks.

Lee walked up the Raptor's ramp first and turned and stopped the marines from following him up.

"Stand down. I won't be needing you on this trip."

The marines exchanged a look before stepping off, allowing Sharon and Hera to board, the mother having a strange look on her face.

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck were flying together once again. Albeit sitting side by side in the cockpit of a Raptor instead of in twin Vipers zooming through space.

"Commander…" Sharon said hesitatingly from her seat at the ECO's station. Things had been quiet between the three adults, although Sharon had been talking softly with Hera since the hatch closed, but she now had questions she wanted to ask.

Lee acknowledged her, "Yeah, Lieutenant."

"Why did you tell the marines to stand down? And how did you know about the lag in the starboard bow RCS cluster, sir? I had trouble flying that thing, yet you've been automatically correcting for it from the moment we took off."

Lee took a breath before turning to Kara and saying, "Take over for a while."

Kara shot him an odd look, but she still put her hands on the controls of the Raptor and announced, "On the controls."

"Off the controls," Lee replied. "And heading aft."

He quickly undid his harness and went to sit on one of the jump seats that folded down from the hatch.

"I know about the circumstances under which you lost Hera and I guess I can understand why you did what you did as much as anyone can. And you've proven yourself to be loyal over and over again, so I decided that the marines wouldn't be necessary."

"I see, sir."

"And as for the RCS cluster? Did you see the squadron designation when you commandeered this Raptor?"

"No, sir."

"CR-135. The Black Ravens. They are-were-a Raptor squadron off of the Atlantia. I flew with them. Said goodbye to the crew that flew this plane just before I took off for Galactica's decommissioning."

Sharon's eyes widened and she tightened her grip around Hera enough so that the girl began to whine in protest. "Sir…"

But Lee continued, "Twitch was a nugget like you. Or Boomer, at least. He damaged that RCS cluster after coming down hard on the landing deck. And Deadbeat, the ECO, had two kids that he absolutely adored."

"So you called him Deadbeat as a joke."

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry, Commander."

"It's alright, Sharon," Lee gave her a small smile. "Seeing this thing just brought up some old memories."

The interior of the Raptor lapsed into silence again as Lee went back to join Kara in the cockpit and Sharon gently stopped her daughter from fiddling with the switches.

Kara glanced over at where Lee was staring through the bubble canopy. He'd told her about Twitch and Deadbeat before. Years ago.

Back then it had been a funny story. A distraction from the stresses of their everyday lives.

But now with this concrete reminder of times past…those stories that took on a more poignant light.

* * *

The Raptor was brought down into Galactica's hangar bay. Lee and Kara could see several other Raptors near the lift that bore fresh scorch marks, telling them that they were the ones that had been on the surface of the planet when the Cylons attacked.

Adama and Roslin were once again on deck and waiting for the ship's occupants to disembark along with several marines and a very tense looking Helo.

The hydraulic lift finally came down flush to the deck, shaking the Raptor's occupants.

At first no one did anything, then Lee went back and popped open the hatch, letting Galactica's personnel that there was nothing to be worried about. Indeed, everyone's shoulders seemed to go down by several inches.

"Go on," Lee said, gesturing towards the now open hatch.

Sharon shifted Hera in her arms and began walking down the ramp. She only made it halfway across the deck before Karl shoved his way past the marines and had his wife and daughter in his arms.

Lee and Kara stood a few steps away from the Raptor, keeping their distance and giving the reunited Agathons their privacy. But they still watched the events unfold.

Lee's arm came up to wrap around Kara's shoulders and her hand came up so that she could rub her thumb over his knuckles, smiling slightly at the sensation of their rings hitting each other.

They both did this completely unconsciously as they watched the heartwarming sight in front of them.

* * *

"You told them about Hera."

"I didn't. I merely used the assets available to me to neutralize a threat to the fleet. The fact that Lieutenant Agathon found her daughter is merely a secondary accomplishment."

"You really are something, Bill. You really are."

"The same could be said for you, Laura."

* * *

Lee and Kara collapsed onto their bed, not even bothering to undress or even take off their boots, utterly exhausted after spending about forty two hours apiece on their feet.

"What a day."

"Yeah."

"It's been a while since I called you Apollo."

"Yeah. It has been a long time."

The silence hung in the air for a long time and both thought that the other had fallen asleep, but their shifting to check told the other that they were both still awake.

"You know, we still have something to talk about," Lee mumbled, remembering the fight that had begun brewing twenty-four hours earlier.

Kara yawned in response. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

She rolled over and wrapped an arm around Lee's waist to show him that she was no longer angry.

"Okay."

Lee placed a soft kiss against her sweat soaked forehead and was snoring softly immediately after.

And as she followed her husband into slumber, Kara really began to let herself wonder what it would be like for her and Lee to lie like this with a child-their child-cuddled up between them.


	35. Chapter 35

**I'm back and I started off by rewriting the preceding chapter. It's major enough that you should go back and read it.**

* * *

Despite the fact that the interior of a battlestar was almost always permanently cool, Lee woke up feeling hot, heavy, and sticky in his uniform and boots.

In their exhaustion, he and Kara had fallen asleep with the lights on the night before, so it was quickly obvious that he was currently lying alone in bed.

Rolling onto his back, Lee looked around until his eyes settled on Kara-who'd stripped off her flight suit sometime in the night-sitting with her knees hugged to her chest at the foot of their bed, looking at him.

"Hey…what time is it?" he asked

Kara spoke quietly, "Almost 0430."

"Why are you up so early?"

She merely shrugged in response, tilting her head to the side as she brushed her loose locks behind her ear.

Lee propped himself up with one elbow and motioned with his hands for Kara to lie down with him. "Come here. You can get about another hour of sleep before we have to get up."

But Kara didn't respond.

She just continued to sit there with one hand tangled in her hair, staring at Lee with her wide hazel eyes. It was obvious that she had been up for a good while now, thinking about something, and that she needed to get it out.

"What is it?" Lee asked as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, ignoring how the sweat soaked fabric of his clothing clung to and slid across his skin.

Kara continued to stare at him. The only sound sounds in their quarters were from their breathing and the hum from the environmental control system.

She ducked her head down briefly once again and used the hand in her hair to brush the cascading strands back as she raised her head to look back her husband.

"You know about my mother," she said, watching Lee's subtle changes in expression as he remembered the stories she'd told him about growing up under the "care" of Socrata Thrace. "And that my childhood was shitty at the best of times."

It was obvious that Lee wanted to say something, but he held his tongue and continued to listen to what Kara had to say.

"Religion was the one thing that stayed constant in my fraked up life. At first it gave me comfort when I needed it. Then I truly began to believe in scripture and what the priests and priestesses spoke of in temple."

Kara unknowingly flexed her fingers at the memory of how the priestess at her local temple had been the only one to show her any real kindness as she was growing up. Then she met Lee, and he showed her how to treat someone you cared for, although it took years for it to properly sink into her head and heart.

"And everyday-since that moment you said 'Hey' on the hangar deck back at Ragnar-I gave thanks to the gods for letting me keep you in my life."

She sniffed as her emotions began to be too much for her to control.

"But now…it's all just muddled up in here…" Kara's voice cracked as her hand returned to her hair. She looked away from Lee then and tried to bore a hole through the bulkhead by their bed with her eyes as they welled up with tears.

She felt herself trembling as sobs built up deep within her chest. She tried to swallow them back down, but she couldn't stop her voice from shaking or her tears from falling. "Because they let me keep you but then they kept on trying to take you away from me. And I don't kn-"

The next thing Kara knew, she was in Lee's arms, being held tight against his solid body.

She clutched at him, grabbing at whatever purchase she could find on the fabric of his uniform with one hand while her other hooked across the back of his neck. She held tight as she placed hard kisses against his throat and jaw.

Kara's hands came up to roughly cup Lee's face as their lips met and she moved to straddle his lap.

She needed to be close.

Needed to be reassured that everything she had right now was real and not just a dream she'd wake up from at any moment.

She began working on the top button of his uniform jacket as his hands slid under her tanks and up her back, their lips barely breaking contact.

And they were both lost.

* * *

"I'll never leave you, Kara," Lee panted as their heart rates slowed and he held her close against him. "Not willingly."

He swallowed hard as their eyes met, the tips of their noses brushing against each other. "I swear that I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that the day either of us leaves, it will be after we've had a full life together."

Lee could see the brightness returning to Kara's eyes when he said that. "I promise you that."

Kara nodded. She had no doubt that Lee meant what he said. She could hold tight to that promise and believe in him.

And she could do the same for him.

"I promise you the same thing, Lee. We're going to be stuck together for a long time before one of us goes."

And they both smiled at this reaffirmation of their commitment to one another.

"I love you," Kara said, lightly pressing her lips against Lee's.

"I love you too, Kara. Lords, how I love you."

The phone suddenly began to ring obnoxiously, rudely reminding them that they had work to do.

Their foreheads touched briefly as Kara said, "You better get that."

Lee reached to grab the handset as Kara lay her head down on his shoulder, fully intending to enjoy every moment of closeness she could before they had to get up.

"Adama."

And so life continued aboard the Battlestar Pegasus.

* * *

**If you haven't reread Chapter 34 yet, you should. The rewrite changed how I'm going approach a sizable portion of this story.**

**This installment's a warm up for me, so sorry if it's not up to snuff.**

**I'm finding it hard to get back in the swing of things so updates will be slower in coming than they used to. **

**So tell me, how's everyone been while I've been away?**


	36. Chapter 36

Sorry about the wait between updates and for how short the installments have been.

First it was work. Then writer's block. Then I was so sick that I couldn't even get out of bed.

I don't know if any of you have ever been bedridden before, but unless you've got someone to pamper you (preferably a Jamie Bamber clone or the real deal), I wouldn't recommend it.

* * *

Lee sat across from his Cylon prisoner in a room that had been emptied specifically for the purpose of interrogating her. There was nothing but two chairs in the middle.

He sat in one and Caprica sat-shackled in heavy chains and bolted to the floor-in the other.

Four marines (still all female) stood in the corners, their weapons gripped tightly in their hands. They were all aware of the kind of strength Cylons were capable of and were more than ready to take a shot if Caprica so much as stretched her legs while still in chains.

A camera stood to the side, focused on the Cylon's face and recording every word she said.

Lee didn't say much beyond the initial question: "Why are you here?" Caprica seemed to have a lot to say.

Although mostly it was just a long stream of philosophical musings and very little in the way of hard information that could be used to their advantage in future engagements with the enemy.

"I believed that God had a plan…" Caprica had begun. "But the problem is none of us know what God's plan is."

"We did what God asked us to do. We created what we needed in order to achieve it and we completed our task. But what did God want us to do afterwards? We were left with barren, empty worlds with no idea on what to do with them. Everything we did seemed like crude pathetic facsimiles of how things used to be."

Lee kept his face neutral as he imagined what the Cylons could have tried to do with the remains of a dozen planets with millennia of written history between them.

"And no Cylon knew just how pathetic our attempts were like I did. Because I spent so long living among you. I saw just how rich human existence could be."

Caprica shifted slightly in her seat, causing the metal of her chains to jingle. The noise almost seemed to echo in the empty room.

"We don't have names, or families. We have numbers, shared by an entire series of models that look exactly the same-I was unique in that I had any sort of designation beyond 'Six'."

The Cylon's expression was a mixture of self-disgust and wistfulness. Lee's brows furrowed subtly as he tried to interpret her change in emotions as she kept on speaking.

"We don't know death. We don't know sacrifice. You destroy our bodies, we merely resurrect in a new one. You. You humans take the limited time that is given to you and drive yourselves to achieve as much as you can before that time runs out. Yet, you will willingly give all of that up, even your own lives, if it means that another will live."

Caprica turned thoughtful as she remembered how the humans had reacted to the arrival of the Cylons on New Caprica.

"Humans. When an outside force comes in you all band together to face it. We Cylons splinter at the slightest hint that things are not going according to plan."

Lee tilted his head and leaned back in his chair. "What do you mean?"

"Everything is so compartmentalized so that none of us know much beyond what we need to complete our objectives. And after our purposes are fulfilled, we simply continue…existing. Maybe that's why New Caprica was such a failure. It wasn't part of the 'plan.' It wasn't my objective or that of the Sharon Valerii who helped me."

"And what was your objective?" Lee asked, not expecting the shackled woman before him to give him an actual straight answer, especially after the speech he just heard.

Their eyes met, and Lee had to repress a shiver at the intense look in Caprica's eyes.

"I was to get close to Gauius Baltar so that I could get access to his Command Navigation Program. I tampered with it so that we could shut down your battlestars and fighters during the first invasion."

That shiver Lee had been holding back traveled up his spine as he realized that he was sitting across from the Cylon who was probably single-handedly responsible for the deaths of billions. The shakes continued as his emotions shifted from horror to rage and he resisted the urge to fling himself across the gap between him and Caprica.

It would be so easy.

He'd just have to squeeze…

Lee tightly squeezed his hands into fists and shoved down hard on his knees as he stood up. "We're done for today."

He turned and ordered the corporal standing behind him as the muscles in his jaw twitched. "Take her back to her cell."

The marine snapped to attention and crisply barked out, "Yes sir!"

Lee walked out as the marines began securing Caprica's restraints and prepared to escort her back to the brig.

* * *

I'll be honest and say that I threw in Lee's musings on the gods at the last minute not knowing the sort of reaction I'd get. And in real life, the whole idea just fizzled like Kara's anger did in the story. I did try to write out the conversation that so many of you wanted but I just couldn't get it to work. So I'm sorry to disappoint, but Kara's little speech in the last chapter is about as far as we're going with this.


	37. Chapter 37

**I thought the end was in sight, but a couple of ideas came to me and this baby just got longer. Hopefully once I figure out the pacing, I can start updating at a fairly decent clip again.**

* * *

Lee sat at his desk in his ready room, staring up at a random point where the bulkhead met the deckhead. He was supposed to be writing up a report on how the morning's interrogation of their Cylon prisoner went; to be triplicated with one copy for him and one each for Galactica and Colonial One. But he had done nothing beyond writing down the date.

In the span of a single conversation, he had discovered the cause of why the remainder of the human race was living in the current hell. And it was a blonde machine passing itself off as human.

His heart still hadn't stopped pounding inside his chest, and his knee-the one he'd injured in the explosion-kept on bouncing up and down, occasionally so hard that it banged with painful force against the underside of his desk.

But Lee barely noticed. He kept on staring at where the bulkhead met the deckhead, alternately raising and lowering his face so that either his mouth or chin was pressed against his joined hands.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the knocking on the hatch until it progressed to heavy pounding. The loud noise startled him, once his brain registered it, causing him to jerk straight up to sit at attention, and not doing his heart or his nerves any favors.

Lee squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to calm down. He wiped at the cold sweat that suddenly appeared on his brow and took a shaky breath before calling out: "Come in."

The hatch groaned open to reveal Kara with her flightsuit partially unzipped and locks of her hair falling out of her ponytail. She'd flown CAP earlier, but had been too busy with the more boring aspects of her job to shower and change into clean clothing afterwards.

Lee immediately felt somewhat more at ease at the sight of his wife, but then Kara said, "Hey. You stood me up."

Lee frowned, unable to recall whether or not they were supposed to meet, and the pounding in his heart returned. The last thing he needed right now was a pissed off Kara.

"What?" he asked completely confused.

"Lunch. You know. The meal that comes between breakfast and dinner?" Kara chided while gesturing with her hands. Her tone said that she was more amused than annoyed. "You weren't going to make me eat all alone in the wardroom, were you?"

Lunch?

Lee looked down at his watch, saw the time, and remembered that indeed, they'd agreed supposed to meet for lunch nearly an hour ago.

"Ah shit…I am so sorry," he said getting up and quickly walking around his desk to where Kara was standing. There was a slight limp in his step from the pain in his knee. He lightly placed his hands on her upper arms and leaned in for a quick peck.

"It's just been a crazy morning."

Kara leaned back so she could get a clearer look at her husband's face. She'd noticed that his gait was off, and the lightness she had been feeling just a few moments before was replaced by worry.

"What's wrong? Did the interrogation go okay?" Kara asked, remembering how disturbed she had been when she interrogated that other Cylon years ago.

She gently ran the backs of her fingers along Lee's forehead. The deep lines on his face were back in full force after a significant period of time when they barely appeared, and looked pale. Even as his eyes closed at her soothing touch, Kara could feel the lingering dampness of the cold sweat he had tried to wipe away.

"Yeah. Yeah…" Lee said as he pulled his head back and opened his eyes to look at Kara. "I've just been on a conference call with the President and the Admiral all morning. They both want a detailed report and the President wants a personal meeting on Colonial One."

He gave Kara a smile to try and reassure her that it was just the administrative and bureaucratic aspects of his job that had him down, but she could see that he was bothered by more than that. The corners of Lee's eyes weren't crinkling like they usually did when he smiled at her and the lines on his forehead did not get any shallower.

And while she was making these observations, Lee was tugging her towards the couch and urging her to sit down.

"Uh…why don't we eat here?" he said with forced lightness. "I can get York to bring us whatever it is they're making in the galley."

Kara mentally noted the time. She really couldn't stay. She had too much work to do.

But the look in Lee's eyes made it obvious that he needed her close by, and Hammerhead was more than capable of running the air group for a while.

"Sure," she said with a reassuring smile and leaned back in her seat to show that she wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

The hastily scheduled nature of most of his meetings with President Roslin meant that, according to the fleet's clocks, Lee was making trips to Colonial One late at night, after they'd both have had busy days. That meant that they were both in slightly snippy moods-particularly Lee, who had been on edge all day.

They were sitting in the President's office, across from each other at her desk, and Lee had been droning on for a few minutes, pretty much paraphrasing what he had written, before Roslin finally had enough and held up her hand to stop him.

"Yes. Yes. I read your report," she said with a slightly annoyed whine in her voice. "It's a good play-by-play, but you've obviously forgotten the most important thing about writing: 'show don't tell.'"

"I wasn't aware that it was supposed to be a piece of creative writing, Sir."

"Oh, don't give me that, Commander," Roslin said, scrunching her face in distaste. "I want to get a feel for what's going on. What do _you _think is going on? Is she playing mind games with you? Do you think that this is all a part of a Cylon plot to mislead us?"

"If she is playing with my head, then she's much more subtle than that Leoben model Kara interrogated. I think she just has a lot to get off her chest, but I'm not sure how much of her venting will be useful to us."

"And how would you describe her mental state."

"She's just flapping in the wind right now. But more than that...she's angry. Bitter would be a better way of describing it. From the way she easily gave up the information about getting access to the CNP, I think it's safe to say that Baltar has a lot to do with it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am."

Lee gave Roslin a tight smile that told her all she needed to know. She knew enough about the Adamas' history to know that Lee's parents' divorce fell well short of amicable, and that much of it was Bill Adama's fault.

She decided to move on. "Who else knows about this beyond you, me, and your father?"

"There were four marines present in the room while I was interrogating the Cylon, Madame President."

"Can they be trusted to keep their mouths shut?"

"Yes sir. I spoke to them about the need for utmost discretion."

"Good. Good."

Roslin leaned on her elbows on her desk and then asked: "Did she say how 'close' she got to Dr. Baltar?" knowing full well the nature of the relationship between the Cylon and her successor/predecessor.

"No, Sir. But I got the impression that it was a sexual relationship."

"I see…"

Roslin's tone and the way she nodded told Lee that she wasn't all that surprised, and he remembered a desperation move made by the President against Baltar during the debates of the last election. When she alleged that she saw Baltar kissing a tall blonde woman.

Lee decided not to ask the President about it though.

"Keep on talking to the prisoner. Get as much information as you can, even the philosophical stuff. From what I've seen of the transcript, if we read between the lines, there's plenty of insight that we can use."

"Of course, Madame President."

"I think that's enough for tonight. You may leave," Roslin said dismissively, obviously signaling that the meeting was over.

Lee got out of his chair, stood ramrod straight and brought his right hand up in a crisp salute. "Madame Presidet."

Roslin brought her own hand up and back down. "Good night, Commander."

He made it as far as the curtain partition when the President called him.

"Commander."

Lee turned back. "Yes, Madame President."

Roslin was looking at him from above her glasses and had a sly smile on her face as she said, "'Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned'…keep that in mind."

Lee nodded with a smirk of his own. It was his first genuine smile in almost twenty four hours. "Of course, Madame President."

"Have a good night, Commander."

"Good night, Madame President."

* * *

**Observation 1: Kara and Lee seem to do a lot of sweating in this story, but not for the reason all you smut fiends out there prefer.**

**Observation 2: That line I pulled from William Congreve's **_**The Mourning Bride **_**is probably one of the most misquoted phrases in English literature.**

**Plus, the questions running through many of your heads right now: Why the hell would Roslin quote William Congreve? And who the hell is William Congreve?**


	38. Chapter 38

**AN1: Hello to all of you who stumbled onto this story after reading "The Proposal,Take Two" and "After the Proposal." Not exactly what you were expecting, eh?**

**AN2: I'd been having trouble with this for the past month. God bless Russell Watson and his voice. If it weren't for them, this would have taken forever to post.**

* * *

After several weeks of Lee interrogating Caprica, Roslin finally decided that they had enough information for the moment and ordered Lee to place the Cylon somewhere for the long term.

He was relieved that it was over and tried to keep himself from ending every thought from ending with _'for now'_. The fact that work was underway to convert one of Pegasus' unused spaces into a long term holding cell both gave him relief and caused him grief.

Now, a tired and haggard looking Lee was giving his final update on the interrogations to the President on Colonial One. Unlike most of their meetings, this one was at a reasonable hour, as Roslin had had Tory arrange this one in advance with Lee's yeoman.

Tonight, their conversation drifted in and out of several different topics regarding the Cylon. It was clear that Lee was having a hard time focusing on any one subject due to his exhaustion.

It wasn't until Roslin steered the conversation away from the interrogations to what they were doing with the information they produced, that Lee seemed to focus-even if it was just a little bit. The Quorum had been debating all week about what to do with Baltar, using heavily redacted transcripts so as not to cause any potential uproar over how the information was obtained and to protect Fleet Security. Plus, there was some tension among the representatives, and Roslin didn't want to give any of them ammunition to use against each other.

Or her and her administration as well.

"You'll be happy to know that using the information from your interrogations, the Quorum voted in a closed session today to revoke Baltar's presidential immunity and that preparations are underway for him to stand trial."

Lee hesitated before answering. Not sure how to take the President's phrasing. "That's good to hear, Madame President…but why would that make me happy?"

"I thought you would be once you found out that all those weeks of interrogation haven't been for nothing."

"Of course, sir. I'm…relieved…to know that the information is proving to be useful."

"Yes. My aides informed me that Baltar will most likely be charged with treason and with consorting with the enemy."

"I assumed as much. My JAG officer did some research and told me that no one's been brought up on charges of consorting with the enemy since the Inter-Colonial Wars."

Roslin quickly ran the dates through her head and found a reason to let her lips curl into a small smile at how Baltar's legacy was shaping up. "That's more three hundred years ago."

But Lee didn't seem as amused. "Yes sir," he said flatly.

The conversation halted when Lee went quiet and stared out of a porthole.

Roslin took the opportunity to observe him, immediately noticing the bags beneath his eyes, the hardness at the corners of his mouth…she had asked a lot of the officer before her and he'd given it his all.

And that, quite frankly, scared her.

The transcripts and video recordings detailed how Caprica became less cooperative after throwing Baltar to the wolves. And how Lee worked to get her talking again.

Despite her hatred of the Cylons, Roslin could not help but feel for their prisoner as she watched the video recordings of Lee getting Caprica to talk. He showed her photographs that documented the Cylon occupation of New Caprica and then showing her similar photographs in history books for comparison.

He told her that the Cylons were no better than humans they lorded over.

He told her that they were, in fact, worse because since they were so sure of their superiority and righteousness they never bothered to learn from the lessons of the past.

She'd never thought a Cylon could flinch or shed a tear, until she watched Caprica be confronted with images of dirty, orphaned children huddled together at the edges of tent cities taken during the Pican Civil War centuries before, and of similar-looking orphans from the first attacks left pretty much on their own on New Caprica City.

Lee had flipped through the photographs over and over again, forcing Caprica to see what people in the past had done and what _she_ had done. He flipped through them over and over again. Faster and faster until it became impossible to distinguish between which children had been orphaned by humans and which children had been orphaned by Cylons.

But it was when Lee threatened to pull her guards and leave Caprica at the mercy of the ship's crew that left Roslin shivering with fear.

The President had seen Lee stick guns in people's faces without hesitation, straddling the fine line between threatening the person staring at the muzzle and actually pulling the trigger. But he always restrained himself by clutching at his beliefs and remembering that the system existed for a reason. That was why she'd managed to stay calm whenever Lee held a weapon, even when it was obvious that he would like nothing more than to send brains splattering all over the bulkheads.

This time, however, she wasn't sure if Lee would have stopped himself.

Roslin looked back and Lee, he was still staring out the porthole. The look in his eyes showed the two warring halves within man. The idealist and the pragmatist, kept in near constant balance by each other.

But it seemed as if their reality threatened to throw the balance either way. And Roslin, with her background, knew that both of those possibilities were extremely frightening in a man as intense as Lee Adama.

"Commander…Lee…are you alright?"

Lee's eyes jerked back to the President, widening in surprise at her sudden use of his name. In his startled state, he forgot to use protocol in his reply. "I'm fine…Ma'am."

He took a breath that came out more like a sigh.

"If there's nothing else, Madame President. May I be excused?"

Roslin nodded and Lee began raising himself up.

"Lee."

He paused and lowered himself back in his seat.

"I'm sorry I put you through all this. But I couldn't trust anyone else with the task."

He just nodded, stood, and saluted.

But this time, his salute wasn't as crisp as usual.

"Ma'am."

* * *

Kara tried her best to ignore Lee's constant tossing and turning, but it was getting harder and harder with each passing minute. She needed to get some sleep, and he sure as hell needed a few good hours. This was the first time in weeks he was getting a proper night's rest after putting in irregular hours in order to interrogate their Cylon prisoner while keeping up with his normal duties.

But as sympathetic as Kara wanted to be to Lee's situation, she was still only human and could only take so much. She was about to say something when Lee lifted the covers off of himself and sat up as slowly as he could.

She could feel the mattress move beneath her and, in the near darkness of their quarters, could just make out his outline sitting hunched over on the edge of their rack.

Something was bugging Lee, and Kara was sure that it probably wasn't the fact that the galley had sent out fruit salad for the fifth time that week.

"Lee?" Kara spoke softly, so as not to startle him. She saw his outline straighten its back as she sat up herself. As she did, she flicked on the reading light above their rack, bathing part of their quarters in soft yellow light.

"Are you OK?"

He didn't say anything at first, so Kara draped her arms around him, resting her chin against his shoulder to silently show him that she was there for him. Her hands clasped together automatically over his chest.

"You know you can talk to me," she murmured into his ear.

Lee was silent for a while before taking a breath and saying, "It's just some things that I can't get out of my head."

"The Cylon?"

"No…Baltar."

"What?" That was new. She'd had no idea that Lee was involved in anything with Baltar.

He kept on talking. "The President told me that the Quorum voted to take away his presidential immunity. He's going to stand trial soon."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"The man doesn't have a chance in front of any sort of tribunal."

"The guy fraked up, and he fraked up bad. The asshole pissed off pretty much everybody he's ever met. He deserves whatever he gets."

They both knew that Baltar would most likely be sent out of an airlock as punishment for his crimes.

"Yeah…but does everybody have to be so happy about it?"

Kara made a soft noise of sympathy, "I know you'll work your ass off to make sure the guy gets a fair trial." _'Although I think the fraker can burn for all eternity.'_

"I can't," Lee said, causing Kara to slightly lift her chin off his shoulder in curiosity. "If they ask me to serve in any way, I'll have to recuse myself."

"What? Why?"

Why would someone who cared for the system as much as her husband voluntarily step aside and not do anything?

Lee was silent. And then she remembered that stupid mistake so many years ago.

"Oh."

She closed her eyes as she tried to will away the embarrassment that suddenly began rising within her.

"I'm sorry," Kara whispered. _'For so many things.'_

Lee placed a hand over where hers were joined on his chest. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

"Besides," he continued with a small smirk, not really expecting a response for what he was about to say. "Who could have seen we'd be in this situation back then, anyway?"

But he did get an answer, and it surprised him.

"I could."

Lee turned his head so that he could see his wife's face, and saw the pure earnestness in her expression. Warmth flooded through both of them, and they angled their heads so that their lips could meet.

It was a soft kiss-one that sent electric tingles from their lips to their toes-and the first real kiss that they shared in a long time. Neither one of them wanted to pull back, but the need for air eventually won out.

Once their lips separated enough, Kara began maneuvering Lee back down to bed and under the covers.

"Come on. We need to get some sleep."

She turned off the light and pulled him against her, with his head nestled over her heart-it was the reverse of their normal position.

"Kara?"

"Shh…Lee," she lovingly placed a soft kiss to the top of his head and pulled him tighter against her body. "Go to sleep."

* * *

**The final arc is coming. The set up has already begun.**


	39. Chapter 39

Colonial contact with the Cylons had been intermittent for months. It was mostly scouting parties of up to four Raiders at a time that were quickly dispatched by the battlestars' fighters and casualties were minimal, but always irreplaceable.

All the while, the fleet continued its journey and continued to find beacons floating in space-always in rings of five. They followed this path, although it was mostly out of hope that it would lead them to Earth than any real belief that it would take them to a new home.

Kara mulled over the significance of these beacons as she led Pegasus' CAP around the fleet. She'd grown up learning to take everything with a grain of salt, but this time she held tightly to the glimmer of hope the beacons provided.

They'd fought too hard to get this far and have everything taken away from them.

"_Starbuck. Minotaur."_ The voice of the Raptor pilot assigned to their CAP brought her attention back._ "Tweed's telling me that he's picked up a low frequency, low intensity proximity signal. Looks as if we have another beacon."_

"Copy that, Minotaur. Break formation and get visual confirmation."

"_Roger. Raptor 349 breaking formation."_

Kara watched the Raptor break formation with the Vipers and fly off in search of this latest beacon before she keyed open her wireless. "Pegasus. Starbuck. We picked up a proximity signal. Raptor 349 is investigating further."

"_Acknowledged, Starbuck. Keep us apprised of the situation."_

She kept an eye on the Raptor as it became smaller and smaller until it quickly became a dot moving in the distance. She knew from experience that, due to its size, it would take a while to actually find the beacon.

The beacons were so small that they barely showed up on DRADIS and getting eyes on them was the only way to record their exact coordinates, because once all five beacons in a ring were found, they were taken aboard Galactica and promptly deactivated and stored.

Kara wondered why they went through all that trouble when a couple of bursts from a Viper's cannons would be just as effective. But the higher ups were adamant that _no _trace be left behind for the Cylons to find.

"_Starbuck. Minotaur. We've made visual contact with the beacon. Should we run a search pattern and look for the others?"_

"Negative. We're all low on fuel and our time's almost up, anyway. Starbuck to CAP, we'll loiter around here until the next group comes out to relieve us. Tweed, you've done this before. Record the exact coordinates of the beacon and call it in."

"_Got it."_

* * *

"So that makes this the seventeenth ring we've found since we left the planet," Lee said, wrapping up his report for his father. They were conversing over the wireless in their respective ready rooms.

"_Do you think the data and the coordinates we've gathered so far will be enough to work with?"_

"Well I have my people going through the data and you have your people doing the same. Plus the President's got people double checking our work and doing their own calculations."

"_Hopefully that will be enough to help us predict where each ring is instead of us having to send out Raptors on long range scouting missions."_

"Or it could end up being just one big clusterfrak."

"_Lee…"_ Adama's voice automatically took on an admonishing tone at his son's choice of words. But at the same time, he was glad to hear a bit of lightness returning to Lee's voice. It had been missing for a long time and not even he was privy to the full details as to why.

"Am I wrong, Dad?"

Adama sighed silently. _"We'll just have to see. Are you and Kara still coming over for dinner tomorrow?"_

"Yeah. We'll be there. Don't worry."

"_See you then."_

* * *

Kara sat at her desk absent-mindedly doodling on a piece of scrap paper. As important as every discovery of a beacon was, the pilots who discovered each of them didn't have much else to do besides make a note of it in their after action reports. So because, today's CAP was uneventful, there was very little she had to do in the way of paperwork.

She was drawing a spiral that twisted tighter and tighter as it traveled down the page. She added more and more to the drawing as she went along, adding lines and curves until the spiral had dimension and ended in a point at the bottom.

She leaned back and observed her creation. It really wasn't much of anything. It was just a product of her boredom that was suddenly marred by a jagged line made by her pen jerking across the page when the hatch to her office unexpectedly banged open.

"Frak! LEE!"

Kara glared at her husband as he plopped himself into the chair across from her while the hatch swung shut on its own from the force of hitting the bulkhead. It was not an airtight hatch like many others on the ship which meant that it was lighter and could be slammed open and shut like Lee had just demonstrated.

"Hey."

There were days when that casual greeting and the accompanying smile would make her smile back give him a kiss and then there were times when it would just piss her off.

Today, the thing with the hatch had her on the fence, so she settled for being mildly annoyed.

"Don't you knock?"

Lee just shook his head. "Not on my ship."

"Why are you here?"

"Can't a guy visit his wife at work? Busy?"

"Well-" Kara began to say, but Lee noticed the piece of paper she'd been drawing on and leaned forward to snatch it.

"What's this?" he asked while trying to make heads or tails of the spiral she'd drawn.

"Hey! Nothing!" Kara reached across the desk to snatch her doodle back. "I was bored."

"Uh huh."

"So, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to see you."

"Aren't you on duty?"

"It's time for my weekly inspection of the ship," Lee said matter-of-factly. "I'm moving on to forward maintenance in about five minutes."

Kara got up out of her chair with a mischievous smile and made her way around the desk. "Five minutes, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Not much time."

Lee met her smile with his own as she got nearer. "It's not."

"So." Kara dropped herself onto Lee's lap. He grunted and the chair groaned at their combined weight, but his arms still came up to pull her closer. "You can't be here for a booty call."

"Nope."

"So you really did just want to see me?"

"Yup," Lee said as they began to exchange soft kisses.

Kara couldn't help but smile against his lips as she ran her fingers through his hair. It felt so good to have the easy closeness of their relationship back again.

"You know that we're going to Galactica for dinner tomorrow, right?" Lee asked as they shifted into a position that was more conducive to cuddling.

"Yeah."

"You think we should take over some of that fruit wine the snipes have been making in the engine room?"

"Mmmm…" Kara nodded, enjoying the sensation of their cheeks rubbing together. "I hear that it's some good stuff."

She couldn't help but smirk at the skewed domesticity of their current situation. Who would have thought that one day, Kara Adama, nee Thrace, would be taking a Raptor to go out to dinner with her husband and her father-in-law. Bearing jars of booze made and stored in the engineering section of a battlestar to boot.

Just then the phone on her desk began to ring obnoxiously ring, forcing Kara and Lee to reluctantly separate their lips so that she could answer.

"Adama…Again? What is it this time? Ugh!" Kara abruptly stood up. "I'll be right there."

"What is it?" Lee asked. She was clearly suddenly in the mood to rip someone's head off as she straightened her flight suit.

"Nothing," she sighed, irritated. "Just some disciplinary problems, that's all…How much trouble would I be in if I just shot the fraking idiots?"

Lee's amused smile didn't go unnoticed, and Kara squinted at him wondering why. "What?"

He just shrugged and said, "Just remembering how I felt whenever a certain blonde pilot acted up back when I was still a CAG."

Kara's jaw dropped in mock indignation, and she leaned in close, pushing her breasts close to Lee's face and working a leg between his until her knee was dangerously close to his groin.

"You. Sir," she whispered, her breath hot against his face. "Are not getting lucky tonight."

Kara was rewarded with a shudder from Lee and she took a large step back, dragging him up with her. Taking advantage of his temporarily startled state, Kara spun Lee around and gave him a shove towards the hatch.

"Now frak off out of my office."

* * *

**Sorry. No family dinner scene coming up. We're going to start taking a bit of a plunge in the next installment instead.**


	40. Chapter 40

**A virus forced me to get my hard drive wiped. Thank all that is good and holy for backups, though. I learned that lesson the hard way a couple of years back.**

**Backup your files, people! You'll never know when your computer will crap out on you!**

* * *

Lee and his XO stood hunched over CIC's lit chart table, poring over images taken by Pegasus' radio telescope and stacks of papers showing calculations that they could barely comprehend. But it was the results of those calculations they were interested in, not the method in how they were obtained, because those results were supposed to be the coordinates of where the next ring of beacons should be located.

"The eggheads are saying that the next ring should be around here," the XO said, tapping a marked section of the chart in front of them. "Give or take a couple of light years."

Lee pursed his lips and nodded. "At least it's Galactica's turn to send out Raptors this time. We'll let the Admiral handle things if all this number crunching ended up being for nothing."

The XO smiled slightly. "Yes sir."

"So what's next on the agenda?"

But before the XO could say anything, Hoshi came up and said in a low voice, "Excuse me, Commander."

Lee turned to face the lieutenant, but blinked in shock when Hoshi took a step closer so that their bodies were almost pressed up against each other. He was trying to formulate something to say when Hoshi said, "There's a call for you from Doctor Cottle, sir. He's refusing to say as to why he's calling."

The muscles in Lee's neck suddenly stiffened as his mind raced through the various implications of the doctor's call. Hoping and praying that it wasn't the worst, he said in a strained voice, "Forward the call. I'll take it in my ready room."

"Yes sir."

* * *

There was usually very little reason for Kara to unleash the infamous Starbuck temper on anybody anymore, but when she did all those who served under her knew well enough to get out of the way and let the target of her wrath take the brunt of it. Today it was two Viper pilots standing stock still in front of her desk.

"Fighting in the pilots' duty locker because of a wet towel," she read off the citation from their squadron commanders.

Kara let the papers in her hand fall to her desk with a flutter as she glared at the sorry sight before her. Kennedy and Greene were obviously itching to try and come up with a better explanation as to why they were currently bloodied and bruised but she didn't want to hear it.

"_Fighting_ in the pilots' duty locker because of a _wet towel?_" she repeated incredulously.

"Sir. I-"

"Did I say you could open your mouth?"

Silence reigned as Kara once again regarded the two pilots standing in front of her. It seemed no amount of extra maintenance shifts and head cleaning would get these two

"I thought I heard every excuse in the book. Hell I've probably used most of them. But this. Is just pathetic."

Kara stalked around her desk came up close against Kennedy and Greene, purposely invading their personal space. She felt a brief surge of satisfaction at how the two men, both larger than her, cringed away as if it would save them if she chose to let loose on them.

"What the hell were you doing in Blue Squadron's duty locker, Greene? Hmmm? You were transferred to Red Squadron so that your contact with Kennedy would be at a minimum. I came _this_ close to drumming the two of you out of the service last month. I had the paperwork all drawn up, and the Commander approved. But the _Admiral _stepped in to save your sorry asses. So consider yourselves lucky."

One of them opened his mouth to try and say something.

"I don't recall giving you permission to speak, Kennedy. And stand up STRAIGHT when I'm talking you!"

Kennedy's spine snapped straight and Greene strained to stand even straighter in fear that the CAG would turn her sights on him. But Kara merely took a step back so she could see the two of them at once.

"So my little flying monkeys. Since hack and extra duties seem to have absolutely no effect on you two, I've made a few calls and got a little creative."

The two pilots swallowed nervously, wondering what the CAG had in store for them.

"Greene. I've managed to transfer you to Galactica." She had, giving up first pick privileges for the next crop of nuggets as well as the extra nugget she'd been promised in exchange for the favor. "The CAG there will have you making food deliveries throughout the fleet for the next month on top of your regular duties."

"Wipe that grin, Kennedy! A civilian shuttle pilot is out of commission with a burst appendix. So you'll be taking over for him instead of flying a Viper until he's cleared. Then you'll be coming back to me." Kara gave Kennedy an emotionless smile to tell him that his troubles were far from over before beginning to glare again.

"Now frak off out of my sight. Both of you. Greene. Pack your bags. You're on the next Raptor out of here."

Keenedy and Greene snapped to attention, and saluted-gestures Kara barely acknowledged with a wave as she sat back down at her desk. She waited until the two exited her office and shut the hatch behind them before she poured herself a glass of water.

She was about to take a sip when a chime rang over the intercom and a voice announced: "_Commander Pegasus. Departing."_

Kara looked up at the speaker mounted on the bulkhead. Something was up. Lee wasn't scheduled to be off ship today.

Wondering what new crisis was looming she took a sip of her water and glanced at her watch.

She was due to lead CAP in a couple of hours and there were still stacks of profiles of the latest class of nuggets she needed to go through. Hopefully she'd finish reading them by the time she needed to do the briefing.

* * *

There was once a time when Kara's Viper was in pristine condition.

But now it was a patchwork of scorch marks, dents and divets where debris and cannon rounds caromed off, and armor plating welded on where the hull had been breached in combat and needed to be replaced.

Kara ran her hands over the different contours of her plane as she made her preflight checks, double checking to see that the knuckle draggers were continuing to be diligent in their maintenance of her baby.

Finished making sure that the fighter wouldn't fall apart on her mid-flight, Kara straightened so that she was nearly eyelevel with the name plate below the cockpit.

_Maj. Kara Adama_

"_Starbuck"_

She smiled and ran her fingers over the lettering. She still flew and fought in a way few would even dare to think about, her Viper's war wounds were a testament to that. But her plane also carried a reminder that she had something to come back to and that, maybe, there was a bright shiny future at the end of all this.

A quick pat of her nameplate complete with the reassuring clang of the metal hull against the metal of her wedding ring, and Kara was ready to climb into the cockpit, but the intercom began to blare just as she got onto the second rung of the ladder.

"_Major Adama to CIC. Major Adama to CIC. Pass the word to Major Adama: You are needed in CIC."_

A quick check of her watch told Kara she had about two minutes before she needed to get in her plane so that she could be loaded into the tube.

"Frak."

She hopped off the ladder and ran over to the nearest phone to call CIC.

"This is the CAG. What's going on?"

The petty officer on the other end merely told her that the XO wanted her in CIC immediately, regardless of whether or not she was about to be shot out into space. That meant she needed to find a replacement for the empty slot in the next thirty seconds.

Kara quickly ran through the list of pilots in the air group and their duty statuses in her head and quickly came up with a solution.

"Showboat! You're leading CAP. Get Woody down here to fill in. Chief! Prep his bird."

"Got it."

"Yes sir."

"This better be good," Kara muttered as she took off at a jog.

* * *

"Major Adama reporting as ordered, Colonel," Kara said as she saluted the XO upon entering CIC.

She was barely given a glance as the XO flipped through a stack of papers before handing it over to a crewman. "Major," the Colonel said as he began moving around CIC. "I've just been called off ship, and the Commander's still not back so command of Pegasus falls to you."

Kara blinked in surprise. "Sir? Is something going on?"

"I'm sorry about dropping this on you on such short notice, Major-"

"Colonel, your Raptor's ready."

"But I've got to go and you have the conn." The man was already by the rotating entrance, waiting for Kara's response so he could get out of there.

"Uh-yes sir. I have the conn."

Kara looked around CIC and the faces looking back at her with a growing sense of dread and the uncomfortable sensation of her stomach knotting itself into a ball. Pulling shifts in CIC was one thing, but this was the first time she'd ever been on a capitol ship where she was the most senior officer on board. There was no one to fall back on or ask advice to if an emergency arose.

But she needed to step up, so she turned to Hoshi and managed to keep her voice steady. "Sitrep."

"Business as usual, Major. The previous CAP has been relieved and is on its way back. The chief engineer just called up to say that engines one through four will be shut down temporarily for routine maintenance. And the galley needs approval of next week's menu."

"How do I do that?"

Yeoman York walked up and handed her a clipboard. "Just take a look at this and sign here, sir."

Kara took the pen offered by York and scrawled her signature at the bottom of the page. The sight of her flight suit clad arm suddenly made her feel out of place among the other officers dressed in their blue duty uniforms.

"After you're done with this," Kara said to York as she handed back the clipboard. "Run over to my quarters and grab one of my duty uniforms and my boots."

"Right away, sir."

Seeing that things were going smoothly with little need for supervision, Kara caught Hoshi's eye from across the room and beckoned him to come over to her.

"What's going on?" she asked the lieutenant. "How the hell do both the CO and XO of a battlestar end up being off ship at the same time?"

Hoshi shook his head to indicate that he didn't have the answer to that question. "I have no idea, Major. Commander Adama received a call earlier today and left rather abruptly in a Raptor. Then the XO got a call several hours later and he left right afterward."

"Where did they go?"

Hoshi glanced up at the DRADIS. "Well, the XO seems to be headed directly for Galactica, but the Commander flew around the fleet for a while before heading over there."

'_What the hell is going on,'_ Kara thought to herself, but said out loud: "Okay. Thanks, Hoshi. Get back to work."

"Major."

As she was contemplating whether or not placing a call over to the other battlestar when York returned.

"Major. I brought over your uniform and boots like you requested. I laid them out in the Commander's ready room for you, sir."

"Thanks, York."

But before she could tell anyone that she was going to step out to change, the communications specialist called out: "Major Adama."

"Yeah."

"We're receiving a distress call from SAE flight 496. They're reporting that they're having problems with their life support and are requesting engineering assistance."

'_Okay, Kara. Time to really step up,'_ she said to herself. _'What would Lee do?"_

"Alright. Tell the Raptor crew that just came in to stop post flight checks and get ready to go out again. Assemble an engineering crew and tell SAE 496 that help's coming."

"Yes sir."

'_Hmmm…'_ Kara thought with a private smile. _'I could be pretty good at this.'_

* * *

Hours later, Kara flopped down onto the couch in Lee's ready room, using her rolled up flight suit as a pillow. It had been a long day for her. And a frustrating one at that. Because although her stint as Pegasus' commander was a relatively uneventful one, neither Lee nor the XO had returned by the time she left CIC late into the night shift, and constant calls to Galactica resulted in them only being given the runaround by her crew.

So here she was, trying to get some sleep, but having a hard time doing so because her mind kept on running through the various crises Lee might be caught up in at the moment.

She must have finally drifted off, because the next thing she knew, the ready room hatch opened and in came that familiar silhouette.

"Hey you're back."

Kara sat up and flicked on the light, and gasped at the sight before her.

"My gods. What happened?"

There was a bandage on Lee's right temple and bruising that spread around it all the way to his eye, as well as another smaller bruise on his jaw.

She got up, grabbed him and sat him down on the couch. She began to check Lee to make sure that there were no other injuries that she hadn't seen at first.

Lee winced and pulled his face away from her hand when her fingers accidentally brushed a little too hard against his bruises.

"Sorry."

Kara gently pulled him back to her and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead in apology. Then she pulled back, looked into his eyes and asked once more: "What happened?"

Lee took a breath. His usually bright blue eyes were dull and almost blank. He struggled to speak for a moment before managing to force out: "Tigh's dead."

* * *

**Wow. 40 chapters. Can you believe it?**

**What do you think of the story now that we're this far into it?**


	41. Chapter 41

"Tigh's dead."

"What?"

Kara didn't know what to make of the news. No one had heard anything from Tigh since he dropped off the grid nearly a year ago. The Old Man had sent him off Galactica for breeding dissent between those who had remained in the sky and those who had suffered the Cylon occupation of New Caprica. Despite the elder Adama's hope that he would eventually pull himself together like in the past, Tigh had simply disappeared this time.

Adama had been shaken by his friend's disappearance and did everything he could to try and track Tigh down, but no matter what he tried, the best answer he could get was that someone matching Tigh's description had passed through.

The man obviously had not wanted to be found.

Watching her husband stare at his knees, she asked, "How?"

Lee slowly turned his head to look at Kara and said dully, "Stabbed. He got into a fight with some of the Jennifer Clarisse's crew."

* * *

_Lee stepped off the ramp of his Raptor in the small landing bay of the freighter Jennifer Clarisse. Another Raptor was parked next to his with its pilot loitering nearby. Lee didn't recognize him but the pilot recognized Lee and snapped to attention and saluted._

_Lee returned the gesture as he walked towards the man he was there to meet. Cottle was currently standing by a hatch with a slight slump in his shoulders. At his feet was his bag._

"_Doctor Cottle," Lee greeted the older man as he approached._

_Cottle straightened and replied, "Commander."_

"_What the hell's going on?"_

_Cottle merely gestured with one hand and bent down to pick up his bag. "Follow me."_

_The two men exited the landing bay and walked down a series of corridors filled with exposed pipes and the smell of machine oil. They walked some distance in silence before Cottle reached into his uniform pockets to pull out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter._

_Without breaking his stride, Cottle lit a cigarette and let out a puff of smoke as Lee walked beside him._

"_Doctor…"_

"_I got a call earlier about a fight that ended with serious injuries," Cottle finally began to say. He exhaled, sending a stream of smoke floating up to the deckhead. "Normally I'd just give advice over the wireless since most of the larger ships have at least one qualified paramedic on board, but the wireless operator kept on saying something about a bad bleeder and that they needed an actual doctor."_

_They turned a corner and walked through an open hatch into the freighter's galley. _

"_But it took awhile to get permission from the Admiral and to get a Raptor ready."_

_Lee followed Cottle as he felt his stomach drop further and further down as the doctor went further into his narrative. Cottle led him straight through the food preparation area and into the cold storage space in the back. The doctor stood to the side and gestured for Lee to walk ahead. _

_He did, and what he saw lying on the deck of the freezer made him stop short._

_It was Colonel Tigh._

_Dead._

"_Oh frak," Lee whispered._

"_I couldn't get here in time. He'd bled out while I was en route."_

* * *

Lee shook his head and looked back at his hands. "He was a mess. They beat him to a pulp and then one of them stabbed him with a boot knife."

"Why?"

Lee shrugged and told her what he knew from what the freighter's crew told him. "They were drunk. He said shit about them for not moving down to New Caprica. They said shit back about him being stupid enough to move down there. And you know what Tigh's temper was like."

Kara couldn't help but nod her assent. "Yeah…"

She also knew that Tigh had a tendency to believe that he was the only person who ever suffered or experienced anything, and that it was one of the reasons why he managed to rub so many people the wrong way.

"How did your dad take the news?"

Lee smiled sardonically and gestured towards the bruises on his face.

"Not good."

* * *

_Lee could only stand and watch as his father leaned heavily against his desk, head bowed. Cottle and Karl were with him in his father's quarters having accompanied him to deliver the bad news, but none of the three men could think of anything to say or do at this moment._

_The room was silent with the exception of the constant hum of Galacitca's machinery working. Lee, Cottle, and Karl kept on watching Adama's back, not knowing if they should stay or leave._

"_Da-" Lee started to say, but before the first word could make it out of his mouth, his father let out a growl that quickly grew into a scream and the contents of the desktop suddenly went flying._

"_Dad!"_

"_Admiral!"_

_Lee rushed through the storm of papers and books, narrowly ducking a lamp that was thrown in enraged grief._

"_Dad."_

_But before he could get close enough to his father to restrain him, Adama's arm swung out again as another shelf full of books went flying. His father's knuckles clipped his jaw-hard enough to knock him off balance. The soles of his boots couldn't find proper traction on the papers thrown across the deck and Lee fell backwards._

_He tried twisting himself in midair, but only half-succeeded before his head struck something hard and everything went black._

xxxxxxxxxx

_The next thing Lee knew, he was waking up, looking up at Doctor Cottle, puffing away on yet another smoke._

"_Where am I?"_

"_Sickbay," Cottle said through a cloud of cigarette smoke._

"_What happened?"_

"_You were knocked out for a couple of hours," Cottle lightly placed a hand on Lee's face to check his patient's injuries._

"_That head of yours has taken a lot of abuse over the past few years, hasn't it? You're damn lucky that you didn't end up with a concussion this time. And thank the gods for that, because this is one story you won't want to tell people."_

_But Lee didn't really care about the extent of his injuries, nor did he particularly care for Cottle's jibes._

"_My father?"_

_Cottle gestured with his cigarette, sending small bits of ash floating down._

"_In the bed next to you."_

_Lee's eyes widened at the news and whipped his head to the side to see where Cottle was pointing to. But the movement brought on a throbbing headache. Once his vision cleared, he saw that his father was indeed in the bed next to him, completely unconscious._

_Turning back to Cottle, Lee asked, "Is he alright?"_

_The doctor harrumphed as he jotted down a few notes on a chart. "It took four marines to hold your father down so I could sedate him. When he comes to, I'm going to force him to take a few days off."_

_Despite the gravity of the current situation, Lee couldn't help but look at Cottle incredulously._

"_What? You don't think I can? I was standing up to men a lot scarier than your father long before you were born."_

_Deciding to let it go for now, Lee turned to look at his father again, but this time, noticed Sharon on the other side of his father's bed, sitting with her back to him. The way she was moving and the little hands that popped in and out of his line of sight told him that Hera was there too._

"_What's Sharon and Hera doing here? What happened to Karl?"_

_Cottle took one last drag of his cigarette and dropped the butt into nearby bedpan._

"_Major Agathon took your father's model boat to his face. He's got a broken nose, minor lacerations and splinters to his face and neck, a concussion, and neck injuries. I haven't seen injuries like that since I helped out after Typhoon Harriet on Tauron seven years ago. He won't be able to do anything other than deskwork until his neck brace comes off."_

_Lee let his head fall back to a more relaxed position on his pillow to try and ease the headache brought on by the movement. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he assessed the current situation._

_Most of the Colonial military's senior officers were in this sickbay at this very moment. Two of them were in no shape to carry out their duties for the time being. He'd need to step in and do some restructuring, and in order to do that he needed to make a couple of calls._

_Lee struggled to sit himself up in bed. He moved slowly to try and keep the throbbing in his head to a minimum. He first raised himself up onto his elbows, then one hand, then the other, and managed to sit up, leaning back heavily on his hands._

"_Doctor," he called out, but Cottle was nowhere to be seen so he turned to the only people who could currently move _

"_Sharon."_

_Sharon turned from where she had been sitting vigil by her husband's bedside, quietly trying to shush Hera's jabbering._

"_Commander?"_

_Lee shifted his weight to one hand and used the other to gesture for Sharon to come closer._

_Sharon came over, still carrying her daughter in her arms. Her expression was one of curiosity and concern. Hera had her thumb in her mouth and regarded the man in front of her with a cocked head._

"_Is there something wrong? Should I call Doc Cottle?"_

_Lee shook his head, immediately regretting the movement as his vision went white with pain. Working through it, he managed to force out the words through clenched teeth: "I need to get to a phone."_

* * *

"Sorry…" Lee said quietly, causing Kara to look at him quizzically.

"About throwing you into the spotlight like that today," he clarified.

"It's alright."

"This day's been beyond insane."

"I know." Kara placed a hand on Lee's knee. "Are you alright?"

His hand came down to cover hers. "Yeah…"

He wasn't, actually. Today's events had shaken him up more than he'd like to admit, but he didn't want to talk about it.

The phone began to ring and Kara, being closer, reached over to pick it up.

"Adama…Hoshi, can this wait?"

"_I'm sorry, Major. But we're receiving a casualty report from SAE flight 496. Specialist Albert Firth has been killed."_

"What?"

"_Initial reports from the team leader say that there was a sudden power surge while Specialist Firth was working on replacing a section of wire. He was killed instantly."_

Kara's face blanched at hearing that one of the crew she'd sent out was dead.

SAE flight 496 was supposed to be simple.

People died in combat, fighting for their lives. Not in freak accidents while helping with repairs on another ship.

Lee, seeing Kara's reaction to whatever the call was about, plucked the handset out of her hands to see what was going on.

"This is the Commander. What's the situation?"

He nodded as Hoshi repeated what Kara had just heard.

"Are there any other casualties? Send a corpsman over to retrieve the body. And have York draw up temporary transfer papers for the XO. He'll be in temporary command of Galactica for the rest of the week at least."

The call ended and Lee pulled the handset away from him and Kara took it to place it back in its cradle.

Silently they sat back on the couch and stared ahead at the bulkhead in front of them, each lost in their own thoughts on how this day had degenerated

* * *

**Stuff's happening. Hopefully I can pull this off. There are so many different elements that are-and will be-coming into play.**

**Tell me if you're having trouble keeping track of anything.**


	42. Chapter 42

**I've extended this chapter so that it is more than double its original length.  
**

* * *

Kara looked over at Lee from her position in the pilot's seat of the Raptor they were flying to Galactica for Tigh's funeral. He had been quiet from the moment they were got dressed for the service this morning.

Scratch that.

He had been quiet from the day he came back from Galactica with the news that Tigh was dead and all through the weeks it took the Admiral to finally start making funeral arrangements for his dead friend.

Kara didn't know what to make of it. As well as she knew her husband, she had never been able to figure out how to handle his more introspective moments the way he had figured out to handle hers. Lee was just so much more unpredictable when he went quiet.

So she focused on flying the Raptor and hoped that Lee would at least talk to her about what had him so down.

"Galactica. Raptor 264 on final approach, requesting permission to land."

"_Copy that Raptor 264. You are cleared to land on platform two. Note: compensate for lateral drift to starboard due to RCS maintenance. Call the ball."_

"Roger."

Kara spared another glance to her right as she maneuvered the Raptor through the cavernous landing bay and onto the appropriate landing platform. Lee was just staring straight out the bubble canopy with his head resting against a hand.

"_Skids down. Maglock secure. Raptor 264 coming down."_

The silence in the Raptor seemed to become absolutely stifling as the plane was slowly brought down from the landing bay and into the hangar deck.

But the ride down the lift was mercifully short, and the urge to say something-anything-that had been building in her chest went away.

Or stopped growing, at least.

"You ready?" Kara softly asked.

Lee just nodded and let out a breath through his nose, so Kara raised the Raptor's center console and headed towards the aft with Lee following. She paused for a moment to readjust the sash of her dress uniform as did Lee. He also pressed his hands down the front of his blouse to smooth out the shiny fabric. Kara noticed that there was a slight pause in the downward movement of Lee's hands, but she didn't think too much about it and just made sure that Lee had stopped fiddling with his dress uniform before reaching across to hit the hatch controls.

The hatch hydraulics came to life and the clamshell doors opened to reveal Chief Tyrol and a detail of knuckledraggers standing at ease before them.

Kara could just hear the near-silent sight that escaped her husband's lips. Like his father, Lee detested the ceremonial aspects of military life, but recognized the need for it when the occasion called for it.

They stepped out of the Raptor and onto the ramp to be greeted by Tyrol's voice barking out: "Attention on deck! Commander Pegasus arriving!"

Letting out another quiet sigh, Lee walked down the ramp and onto the deck. Tyrol stepped forward and presented them with a crisp salute.

"Welcome aboard the Battlestar Galactica, Commander Adama."

Lee returned the salute. "Thank you, Chief."

"Conference Room Two has been set up as a gathering area for before and after the service, Commander. You can go wait with the other visiting dignitaries there, if you'd like, sir."

"Alright. But I'd like to see the Admiral first. Do you know where he is?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but Admiral Adama requested that he not be disturbed until the service is to begin."

Lee nodded, mostly as a way to show reaction than anything else.

"Carry on, Chief."

Another salute was presented and received.

"Yes sir."

Tyrol made an abrupt about face and barked: "Detail! Dis-MISSED!"

Lee began heading towards the ladder with Kara keeping pace by his side. Behind them, Tyrol began giving orders to the deck crew.

"Okay, people! Stop fraking around and let's get this deck clear and set up for later!"

* * *

Maybe it was wrong to be surprised at how many people from the general fleet had turned up for Tigh's funeral. They were all waiting in smaller groups, holding refreshments in their hands and waiting for it to be time to head to the hangar deck.

Although those gathered were telling stories of Tigh and spoke of him respectfully, Kara noted that it was always in a slightly begrudging tone. The man had made very few friends in his lifetime, that was for sure. But he stood up and did his job well when the situation required it, usually to the surprise of those who knew him.

She, herself, was talking with Karl, looking much better after his close encounter with the Admiral's model ship. Most of the lacerations on his face had healed and there was just a bit of fading yellow bruising marking his skin.

As she was congratulating Karl on being able to return to full duty status, Kara looked around until she saw Lee standing against a bulkhead by himself. She was about to excuse herself and head over to him when Lee pushed himself off the bulkhead and began walking towards the hatch.

* * *

Making sure that no one was really looking at him, but failing to notice Kara's gaze on him, Lee stepped out into the corridor and walked away.

There was something he needed to do before the funeral.

* * *

Kara watched Lee slipping out of the conference room but said nothing.

She knew the expression on his face and it was usually best to let him take care of things on his own when he looked like that.

* * *

Lee made his way through the familiar corridors of Galactica until he reached a hatch next to the entrance to sickbay. Two marines stood guard, but he paid no attention to them and walked up to place a hand on the hatch handle.

One of the marines took half a step forward to stop him from entering.

"Commander-"

Lee didn't bother looking at the marine and kept his hand on the handle. "I'll just be a minute."

"Sir, we're under ord-"

Lee whipped his head to look at the larger man, affixing him with a withering glare. "I'll _just be a minute._"

The burly marine jerked back, surprised by the intensity in the Commander's eyes.

Lee turned back to the hatch, once again ignoring the guards, pulled it open, and stepped through a cloud of water vapor into Cold Storage. With its banks of body freezers, it was where the dead had been kept until their bodies could be returned to their grieving families. Now it was place where the few recoverable bodies were stored before they could be ejected out a launch tube, wrapped in Colonial flags.

Today, there was just one flag draped body bag lying on a stretcher-waiting to be picked up and carried to the hangar bay.

Lee stepped up to the body bag and slowly pulled back the flag until half of the body bag was exposed. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he hesitated at what he was about to do. But it needed to be done, so he swallowed and pulled down the zipper to reveal Saul Tigh's face and upper chest.

Someone had taken the time to clean the man up and put him into his dress uniform. He looked much better than the long-haired, bearded figure that stank of alcohol and weeks without washing that Lee had been called to identify.

Lee took a breath and undid the clasp of his uniform blouse. He reached in to pull out a plain white envelope made of good cardstock that he'd found in his desk a long time ago but never could think of a use for. Hesitating for another moment, he pulled down the body bag's zipper some more to reveal Tigh's hands crossed against his chest. Lee gently lifted the dead man's hands up slightly to slip the envelope beneath them.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

His voice was shaking. But it wasn't from the cold.

And with that, he zipped the body bag up and rearranged the flag so that there was no hint that he had been there.

Stepping out of Cold Storage, Lee turned to the marine who had tried to stop him earlier and muttered, "I wasn't here."

"Yes sir."

* * *

"Where were you?"

"Just needed to hit the head."

"…"

"What?"

"Come on. Everyone's moving towards the hangar bay."

* * *

It was obvious that neither the Admiral nor the President wanted to enter the hangar deck with any fanfare, but protocol demanded that their entrance be announced and for those gathered to rise. The two of them walked down the aisle side by side. They were close enough to each other so that their arms were just brushing as they walked,

From her position on the raised platform where she, Lee, and some of the visiting dignitaries were to sit, Kara got her first look at the Old Man in weeks. To her, it looked as if the barely-there contact between her father-in-law and the President was the only thing keeping him from crumpling to the deck. Even from a distance, Kara could see how tight Adam's lips were, deepening the lines on his face, and the amount of effort that was being put into not letting his shoulders slump too visibly.

It was agonizing to watch the two highest ranking people alive make their way to their seats. Kara wanted to do something-anything-to try and comfort the person who was second only to her husband in her heart, but she could only be an observer as Roslin and Adama eventually made it to their seats and sat down, signaling everyone else to sit down as well.

Once everyone was seated, a priest stepped up to the podium and began the service with an opening prayer. He was the first in a line of speakers who spoke about Tigh who obviously admired the man for what he did in the New Caprican Resistance but tried to hard to sugarcoat Tigh's shortcomings. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the latest speaker's words, Kara turned her head slightly to see how Lee was reacting to everything, but it seemed as if he wasn't. His face was like stone and his eyes were not moving from the flag draped body bag containing Saul Tigh's corpse that lay just beyond the open doors of a launch tube.

Kara wondered what the hell was going on with her husband, but before she could dwell on it for too long, the Admiral stood up and stood behind the podium. It was time for Adama to give his eulogy for his late friend.

There was a shifting among those gathered, especially among the military personnel, as their leader leaned heavily against the podium before him and took a long moment to collect himself before he looked back up and began speaking in a steady voice:

"No one is perfect. We all have our flaws. Saul Tigh's were more noticeable than those of other people, but he was still a good man. A good friend. Willing to make the tough calls when they needed to be made…no matter what other people thought…and no matter their costs…"

Kara thought she heard Lee suddenly take a sharp breath at those words, but she had suddenly remembered the speech Lee had given at Albert Firth's funeral weeks before, and the guilt she'd felt over the events surrounding the specialist's death. She'd sent him and a team of snipes out to do something that should have been relatively simple and safe, and the man had died on her watch.

The man's death shook her. More than any other death that had occurred to those under her command. Her mind couldn't help but brood over how seemingly senseless it all was until she heard Lee's eulogy:

"…_Albert Firth died while working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of others. Be it on the battlefield or at home, or anywhere else, remember that there is no higher calling and nothing more that can be asked of you as soldiers or as human beings…"_

Firth had served with distinction on the Galactica, helping defend the ship against a Cylon boarding party before being transferred to the Pegasus by Admiral Caine. And like Tigh, he had been a member of the resistance on New Caprica. But Firth, like so many others, but unlike the late Colonel, managed to pick himself back up after being rescued and went on with his life, only to have it cut short while he was carrying out his duties and upholding the oath he had taken as a member of the Colonial military.

What was it about Tigh that made him react so differently from all the others who went through the same experiences as he did?

What made the man think that he was so special that he needed to cause a ruckus everywhere he went?

"All hands, Ten-HUTT!" Karl's voice suddenly boomed across the hangar bay, interrupting Kara's thoughts

Everyone reflexively rose in silence. The loudest sounds in the hangar bay were those of clicking heels.

"About FACE!"

Those who were facing the raised platform turned around to look at the open launch tube and the body bag within it.

"Present ARMS!"

An alarm began to blare as the launch tube doors slowly closed.

Then the alarm cut out.

"Order ARMS!"

And just like that, it was all over.

* * *

Later, back in their quarters aboard Pegasus, Lee immediately took off his sash the moment he walked through the hatch and began stripping off his dress grays. Kara followed behind and made sure that the hatch was closed before settling herself in a chair.

Now down to his tanks and boxers, Lee pulled out a blue duty uniform and began to quickly get dressed.

"Lee?" Kara asked as he buttoned up his trousers and slipped his arms into his blouse's sleeves.

"Yeah?"

"Are you…alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, a little too quickly for her.

"Listen-"

Lee looked up from where he was lacing up his boots. "I'm fine, Kara," he insisted.

Kara didn't say anything. She just looked at him with probing eyes, looking at the façade he was putting up. She was looking for a crack she could dig into. Something that would help her figure out why Lee was acting so strangely.

Done dressing, Lee straightened and made towards the hatch. "I've got to get to CIC."

"Yeah. See you."

"See you."

The hatch opened and closed, leaving Kara alone in their quarters. Shaking her head at Lee's strange attitude, she caught sight of Lee's dress uniform laid carelessly on the rack, not carefully hung up like it usually was no matter how hectic life got.

What was wrong with her husband?

* * *

**What do you think? **


	43. Chapter 43

Kara had hoped that Lee would quickly return to normal after Tigh's funeral, but it actually seemed as if he was getting worse with each passing week. He was drifting further and further away from her and his behavior was changing, and Kara was finding it harder and harder to connect with her husband.

And it was beginning to scare her.

In the darkness of their quarters one night, Kara sleepily turned in bed, and began to press kisses against Lee's jaw and up his face. She slung a leg over his hip and pressed herself against his body, needing to be close and hoping he felt the same way.

For once.

And for a moment it seemed as if Lee did. Kara felt his arms tighten around her and she could almost feel his lips beginning to soften against hers. Feeling a surge of triumph rush through her body, she pushed herself against him even harder, grinding their bodies together as the pressure rolled Lee onto his back with Kara straddling him.

"Kara?" Lee mumbled sleepily as he slowly became aware of the weight of her body on his and the soft, wet sensation of her lips being pressed against his face.

"Mmmh," she purred as she slid down his body to fasten her mouth against his neck.

"Kara…" Lee was becoming more alert. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. Not lately.

She moved herself back up so that their faces were level again.

"Shhh…" Kara whispered before pressing a kiss against Lee's lips. Her hand slid down his torso and a finger worked its way into the gap between his tanks and shorts. The gap slowly widened as Kara slipped one finger after another beneath Lee's clothing until her entire hand was running up and down his torso, revealing more and more skin in the process.

But just as Kara got to work on the waistband of Lee's shorts, his hand came and grasped her wrist.

"No. Not tonight."

Dammit.

"Again?"

Lee's silence was all the answer Kara needed. She rolled off him and onto her back, hard enough so that the bounce from the mattress left a couple of inches between them.

Kara stared up at the deckhead in the darkness and let out an angry breath through her nose. The feeling of frustration built up in her chest, the urge to yell and punch something was starting to become unbearable.

Finally, not able to take anymore, Kara sat up and flicked on the reading light next to their bed. Lee's eyes blinked at the sudden brightness until he was able to squint up at the hazy silhouette of his wife.

"What is with you?" she asked. Her tone was soft, but the dangerous undercurrent of a fiery temper kept in check by sheer force of will was unmistakeable.

Lee reached up and flicked on his reading light so that he could better see Kara.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked while still lying down. He clearly wanted to avoid talking if he could, but Kara wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on.

"It's been weeks since we've done _anything_!" Kara emphasized the last word. The last time they'd done anything remotely close to fraking-let alone making love-was two weeks before, and Lee's distant attitude made the experience anything but enjoyable for Kara, even though she stubbornly saw the deed through to the end with the hope that Lee might become engaged at some point.

But that didn't happen.

"And you've been like this," Kara gestured towards Lee with her hand. "For a lot longer. Frak! It's getting up to be months now!"

Lee pushed himself with his elbows to sit up. "Like what?"

"You've been…" she struggled for a moment to find the right word but couldn't find it. "You barely talk to me anymore. You avoid even eating with me, and when you do you just stare at your plate."

Lee seemed to have a hard time making eye contact as Kara's eyes roamed over his face. Her years of playing Triad made her good at reading people. Years of friendship, love, and marriage made her good at reading _him._ But knowing that Lee was troubled was little help when she couldn't figure out _what _was troubling him.

Kara leaned back against the bulkhead, the metal felt cold through her tanks, and let out a long breath. She decided to try a different tack

"I mean it's like ever since Tigh died-"

She never got to finish that sentence. Lee suddenly threw the blanket off of his lap and sprang from the rack as fast as he could.

"Hey!" Kara shouted in surprise and anger. She scrambled out of the tangled blanket and got out of bed herself. "Where do you think you're going?"

Her hand shot out at slapped on the lights, revealing Lee standing in the middle of their quarters, obviously torn between staying and making a run for it. He shifted his weight from foot to foot before seeming to settle himself.

"What do you want from me?"

Kara began to slowly advance towards Lee, recognizing from personal experience that he was on the verge of bolting.

"I want you to tell me what's bugging you so much that at night you hold me so tight that I can barely breathe, but when I try anything more than peck you, you go back to acting like back before we were together!"

Back when all that crap-including Sam, Dee, and their own demons-was floating between them as they both struggled to work out their feelings.

"There's nothing bugging me. I'm fine."

She continued to close the distance between them, trying to keep her gestures to a minimum. Nothing that would make Lee draw away from her and closer to the hatch.

"No you're not. I see the way you've been looking at me lately…" Lee visibly started when Kara told him that she noticed. "Tell me what's wrong-I'm not going anywhere."

But he stayed quiet.

"Let me help you!"

"I'm fine!" Lee insisted. "There's nothing for you to help."

"Like hell there isn't!"

He shook his head and focused intently at something on the deck.

"Lee-" Kara's tone turned gentle, soothing, but it seemed to have no effect. Lee quickly walked around her towards their rack. Kara turned in place, following his movements and becoming startled when she saw Lee shoving his feet into his sneakers.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

"I'm going for a run."

"Hey."

Suddenly feeling panicked, Kara reached out to grab Lee's arm as he passed by her on his way to the hatch, but he quickly twisted his body and wrenched his arm from her grip.

"Get back here!" Kara yelled, her tone strident.

She tried to follow, but Lee quickly opened the hatch just enough to squeeze out and took off down the corridor, leaving her fuming in the middle of their quarters.

She briefly considered chasing after him but quickly came to the conclusion that making a scene in front of the entire crew would not help her get to the bottom of things any faster.

At a dead end and with no idea what to do, Kara could only stay where she stood with the frustration within her beginning bubbling over. With nothing to punch easily accessible, her hands shot to her hair and her finger tips dug into her scalp. The sensation helped a bit, but was not nearly enough to distract her from the issue at hand.

"Frak!"

* * *

I'm bringing back an old feature: the Speculation Game!

Anybody care to guess what's got Lee so down? Or about how this situation will be resolved?


	44. Chapter 44

**Longer than usual today. Enjoy.  
**

* * *

Much to his relief, Kara was gone when Lee finally returned to their quarters later that morning. He wasn't ready to confront her again so quickly after their last fight.

He let out a sigh as he crossed the cabin to the head.

He was being a coward, plain and simple; avoiding what needed to be said and done.

But try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He just couldn't get what he wanted to say off his chest.

Every time he tried-and he did try-to tell Kara, the words caught in his throat, and try as he might, he couldn't say anything without finding a way to change the subject.

With heavily slumped shoulders, Lee kicked off his sneakers and stripped out of his clothing as he walked across the cabin to the small head. The space was still warm and damp from Kara's shower earlier. He stepped into the shower with another sigh, working quickly to wet down, soap up, and rinse with the efficiency he learned back in the Academy.

He was working to get the last of the soap out of his eyes when the phone by the sink began to ring.

"Shit," he muttered, quickly shutting off the water. He reached out and blindly grasped for a towel to dry a hand and the side of his face before slapping around to find the receiver.

"Yeah. Adama."

"_Good morning, Commander,"_ said the voice of his communications specialist as he dried the rest of himself with his free hand. _"I just received a call from the Cylon holding cell. Apparently our prisoner would like to speak to you, sir."_

The news managed to distract Lee from thoughts of the current state of his marriage. Caprica's contact with humans had been pretty much limited to seeing her guards through the bulletproof glass of her cell since he finished interrogating her months ago.

He wondered what she had to say.

"Okay. Call ahead and tell them I'll stop by there before going in to CIC."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Seven minutes later, with hair still slightly damp, Lee walked into the Cylon holding cell. The two marines currently on shift were sitting at a small table talking with each other when they noticed him come in and immediately stood at attention.

"Good morning, Commander," the senior of the two women said, saluting Lee.

"Corporal," Lee replied, returning the salute, before walking up to the glass separating Caprica from the rest of Pegasus and taking a look inside.

The cell was small and utilitarian, built especially from for the purpose of holding its occupant for the long term, like Sharon's old cell on Galactica. It contained a cot, a table and chair, along with a toilet and sink hidden behind a small screen for a bit of privacy.

Caprica was sitting on the chair with her back to the glass, reading from the one book she was allowed at a time. The once-immaculate Cylon was now dressed in an olive drab utility uniform, and her hair now hung limp down to her shoulders. The months in captivity and limited contact with others were wearing her down, although Lee knew that the intense interrogations had a lot to do with her current state.

Lee knocked on the glass to get Caprica's attention. The Cylon turned in her seat to see who it was. Recognizing the figure looking at her, Caprica stood and approached the glass.

Lee grabbed the receiver that was on his side of the glass and waited for Caprica to do the same on her side.

"You wanted to speak to me?"

Caprica's eyes darted up to his hair before she made eye contact with Lee.

"I was…" she said softly. She was hesitant, almost meek, in the way she spoke. "I was hoping that I could take a proper shower."

That wasn't exactly what he was expecting to hear, but it was a reasonable request. Taking bird baths using a sink and washcloth wasn't the most ideal way to keep clean. Nor was it good for morale.

"Of course. I'll arrange it."

"Thank you."

Lee hung up the receiver and turned to the marines who were standing behind him.

"She wants to take a shower. Wait about an hour. The heads should be emptying by then. Call up the rest of the detail when you're ready to move her, clear the nearest head and give her five minutes of hot water. Every two weeks from now on."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Over on Galactica, Admiral Adama was settling in for his shift in CIC when a familiar voice called to him.

"Admiral."

He turned with a wide smile on his face.

"Kara!"

Kara returned his smile.

"I had an early morning meeting with your CAG and I just wanted to see you before I left."

"So you're on your way to the hangar deck?"

She nodded.

"I'll walk with you."

"You don't have to. And you have a ship to run." Kara gestured towards the crewmembers busily moving back and forth, making sure nothing was failing catastrophically.

Adama shrugged. "It's a slow morning. Besides…it's my ship."

Kara had to smile at that. The Admiral turned to Karl, who was busy conferring with the helmsman, and said, "XO, you have the conn."

Karl nodded and moved to take up his position by the chart table. "Yes sir. I have the conn."

Kara and Adama walked through the corridors together, eagerly catching up on each other's lives, even if it was essentially nothing but doing their jobs with occasional run-ins with the Cylons. Kara was pleased to see that her father-in-law was doing just fine after putting Tigh to rest, unlike Lee.

She purposefully avoided talking about her husband, still angry, confused, and concerned after their fight and his running of earlier that morning. And Adama seemed to not notice, because he talked to Lee at least once a day over the wireless.

They eventually arrived at the hangar deck and the waiting Raptor.

"Your anniversary's in a few weeks isn't it?" the Admiral asked as they stood in front of the open hatch.

"Yes sir," Kara confirmed with a smile that was a little tight around the corners. "One year in three weeks."

"I've been trying to put together a little something for you two."

"That's not necessary. We're not planning anything big."

'_We haven't planned anything at all__. I wonder if Lee even remembers that it's coming up.'_

"You should at least take some time off. You never had a proper honeymoon."

"That's a nice thought, sir, but the Cylons could show up and shit all over our plans no matter what we decide to do."

"Best to keep it simple."

"Yes sir."

She acted quickly to end the conversation

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Admiral."

Adama pulled Kara into a hug.

"You shouldn't have to call me that anymore."

She let out a soft snort.

"It feels weird to call you anything different."

They separated.

"Take care."

"Bye."

Adama stayed and watched until the hatch was closed and Kara was in the cockpit doing preflight checks before he decided to head back to CIC. With a final wave he headed up the ladder.

He knew Kara thought that he hadn't noticed the fact that Lee was conspicuously absent from their conversation or the shadows playing across her face. But he had noticed.

Carolanne had often worn similar expressions as their marriage began to truly fall apart. He never noticed that they were there until it was too late to do anything.

He just hoped that the son would be more perceptive than the father.

* * *

Back on Pegasus a group of female marines escorted the shackled Caprica through the corridors to a nearby head, where another group of female marines kept other crewmembers from making use of it.

They moved quickly, although the marines remained vigilant. They all felt strange keeping their guard up against their shipmates, but President Roslin and Commander Adama both made it clear that their prisoner was more dangerous to them dead than alive, now that she'd been aboard the Pegasus.

Caprica was soon hustled into the head and the hatch was shut behind her. Her marine guards took up positions around the area as she was being unshackled.

She was then shoved into the shower area, where a bar of soap and a washcloth were slapped into her hands.

"Strip," one of the marines ordered. "You have two minutes before I turn on the water, then you have five minutes to get yourself clean. I'm going to tell you how much time you have left and when I turn the water off, it stays off. I don't care if you think you're not done. Got it?"

Caprica nodded in understanding. She quickly undressed and got herself under one of the showerheads.

"Okay. Water coming on in five…four…three…two…one…"

The Cylon jumped slightly when the spray hit her. It had been a while since she'd properly bathed, and it felt good to have the chance to get herself clean again.

But as she was lathering herself up, the voices of her guards could be heard over the water.

"She has no idea how lucky she is, does she?"

"Probably not."

"Private cell…meals delivered…books she can read in bed…I mean she has her own bathroom for frak's sake."

"Now five minutes to shower at a time. Alone?"

"Gods…what we do to get that extra minute every month."

"Yeah…three minutes instead of two. That's the only time I can wash my hair properly."

"Plus she gets twenty-four hour protection."

"The last one didn't stand a chance. This one doesn't, either. Not if we weren't around."

"Shit. There are still places on this ship that _I_ won't go without a gun and someone to watch my back."

"I thought the Commander got rid of most of those guys."

"Yeah. Most. It's the ones that were smart enough not to get caught that scare me."

"Hey, how much time does the skinjob have left?"

"She still has two minutes."

But Caprica had stopped washing and simply stood beneath the spray, listening to those women talk. So much of what they were talking about was foreign to her. She'd thought that she was having a hard time as a prisoner, but hearing her guards talk like that, she was beginning to realize how much these people had lost and how much she was being given by the humans, despite being one of those who'd destroyed their lives.

She looked down at the soapy water swirling at her feet, slowly beginning to realize that there was a funny feeling churning in her gut.

Was this the kind of emotion that the Model Eight now known as Sharon Agathon told her about? The kind that made Sharon turn her back on her own kind and work to become accepted as human?

Her thoughts were cut short when one of the guards barked out: "You have one minute! One minute!"

Shaking herself back to reality, Caprica quickly worked the soap into her hair. If there was one thing that was going to be properly washed today, it was going to be her hair.

"Alright! Ten seconds…five…four…three…two…one!"

And as promised, the water shut off on Caprica just as she finished rinsing. A guard walked in to the shower area and shoved a bundle containing a towel and clean clothes into her abdomen..

"Dry off and get dressed. You have two minutes. If you're not done by then, you're still going out there. Even if you're half naked."

Caprica nodded and quickly got to work doing as the marine told her.

And she managed to dry off as best as she could and got dressed within the time limit given to her, even though her hair was still dripping when the marines came to restrain her again.

The shackles were quickly fastened around her wrists and ankles once more.

"Good to go?" one of the guards, most likely the leader, queried.

"Good to go."

The hatch was opened, revealing a scruffy looking petty officer arguing with the two marines who were guarding the hatch.

"But I really gotta go…" the petty officer was saying.

"Get lost," one of the two hatch guards replied. "You can use the head in a few minutes…"

That didn't satisfy the man. "What are you guarding this place for anyway? It's nothing important."

"I don't care. Come back later."

"But-"

"Frak off."

"Hey. Listen. I'll just go in do my thing and get out. Kay?"

"No."

"Look. The hatch is opening. I'll just squeeze by whoever's coming out. Cut a few seconds off-"

The petty officer tried to forcibly make his way past the two guards and through the hatch, but the women were having none of it. They quickly had him pinned-albeit still struggling-against the bulkhead opposite the hatch

"Lords, you reek," one of the marines admonished the struggling petty officer. "How much have you had to drink?"

The other joined the conversation. "Forget that. Look at his eyes. He's high."

"What? Gods…"

By this time the petty officer was struggling wildly, bucking against the combined strength and weight of the two marines. And as he fought to break free, he caught sight of Caprica being escorted out of the head.

"Cylon! Cylon! Cylon!" he began screaming as he fought even harder against the women holding him down.

"Frak," the lead marine muttered before barking out, "Back inside! Back inside!"

Caprica suddenly felt arms wrap around her and practically throw her backwards. She fell hard to the deck and was quickly surrounded by a wall of black. She wasn't sure what was going on until she heard one of her guards yell out.

"He's got my sidearm!"

* * *

Kara stepped off the Raptor ramp and onto Pegasus' hangar deck to be greeted by newly-promoted Petty Officer First Class Kaplan.

"Welcome back, Major Adama," Kaplan said with a salute.

"Kaplan," Kara returned the salute. "Anything happen while I was away?"

Kaplan shook her head, "No sir. Just the usual."

"That's not always a good thing."

Kaplan just grinned and handed Kara a clipboard with forms she needed to sign.

"Anything I should know about the plane, sir?"

"No. She flew just fine."

Klaxons suddenly began to blare and a voice called out over the intercom: _"Shots fired in forecastle living area. Shots fired in forecastle living area. Set Condition One throughout the ship."_

The hangar deck turned into a hive of activity as Kara called out over the din: "Break out the small arms and wait! You got me? Wait!"

A deckhand ran by and handed Kara a gun belt. She'd fastened in around her waist was making sure that the strap around her thigh was secure when another voice came over the intercom.

"_This is the XO. Stand down to Condition Two. Medical team to forecastle enlisted head. Medical team to forecastle enlisted head on the double."_

Kara's mind went into overdrive.

XO making the announcement when Lee was supposed to be in CIC…

Medical team…

She was off like a flash. The only thought running through her head was: _'Oh gods…please…not again.'_

* * *

Kara quickly made her way through Pegasus's corridors towards the bow of the ship. She was making her way through the forecastle when the pounding of feet and calls to make a hole began growing clearer in her ears.

She picked up her pace, needing to see who was being brought out.

Needing to make sure that it wasn't Lee.

She soon saw the gaggle of corpsmen bearing a stretcher turn a corner and run towards her, and for a moment she was back in engineering all those years ago watching helplessly as Lee was brought out battered and barely conscious.

Stopped in her tracks, Kara slowly moved to the side, praying that the face she would see was not the face she remembered seeing.

And it wasn't.

Kara all but collapsed against the bulkhead. She leaned heavily on the cold metal with relief flooding through her, and she would have slid to the deck if it wasn't for the voice of her husband traveling down the corridor.

Picking herself up, Kara continued towards her destination-at a slower pace this time-turning a corner and seeing the crowd of crewmembers being kept away from a hatch by a group of angry looking marines. She noticed that they were all female, which could only mean that their Cylon prisoner was on the other side of the hatch.

Lee suddenly stalked out from the head, with a gun strapped to his hip and an angry glint in his eye.

"Clear out," he ordered loudly, making sure that everyone gathered could hear. "You all have jobs to do. If you don't have anything to do, get some sleep or find something."

And that was enough to get everyone moving.

Everyone except Kara, but it seemed as if Lee hadn't noticed her standing among the gathered crowd, conspicuous in her blue duty uniform among a sea of yellow, orange, and olive drab.

Instead, Lee turned back and walked back into the head. Kara could just make out Lee and the Cylon, as he put a hand on her shoulder and asked a question to which the prisoner nodded in response.

Kara felt a stab of jealousy at the sight. That brief touch was more affection than Lee had consciously shown her in a while.

While she was thinking that, Lee came out and began talking to the senior marine: "Get ready to move the prisoner. Call up another squad and have it clear each section of corridor ahead of you before you move. I'll be in CIC. Call when you secure her in her cell or if something happens."

"Yes sir."

Lee turned to walk down the corridor when he saw Kara standing in front of him. He started at her unexpected appearance.

"Hey," he managed to stutter out.

"Hey," Kara replied.

They stood in awkward silence for several moments before Lee remembered that he had somewhere to be.

His voice was shaky and hesitant as he spoke, "I…gotta get back to CIC."

Kara could only nod and reply, "Yeah."

* * *

Lee stumbled into his quarters later that night-much later-exhausted after dealing with the fallout from the incident earlier. Sickbay confirmed that the petty officer the marines had shot was high on the local plant that had been so popular back on New Caprica. So he'd sent the XO and a team of marines through Pegasus' living areas, tearing through everyone's belongings, looking for anyone who had any left. And as a result five crewmembers, including two officers, were in the brig, with their stashes tossed out an airlock.

All he was looking for now was a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. But what greeted him was the sight of Kara sitting on their couch with a packed bag by her feet.

Completely bewildered, he walked slowly into the cabin and asked, "What's going on?"

She looked up to make eye contact. "You're late."

"Yeah…uh…why do you have your duffle packed?"

Kara stood up and picked up her bag. "When I saw you in the forecastle today, I realized that you've been acting weird for a long time…but only around me."

She began walking towards Lee. "So I decided to do something about it."

Pure fear sent shivers through Lee's body as he tried to avoid thinking that Kara was about to do the one thing they'd promised never to do to each other.

"You're leaving?" he managed to croak.

Kara's eyes widened as she quickly closed the distance between them.

"No…" she insisted. Lee looked away, his face scrunched in utter devastation, but Kara gently guided his eyes back to hers.

"I'm doing something that you used to do for me…" she gave him a watery smile at the memories of what he'd done for the ungrateful old version of her. "You'll come find me when you're ready."

Kara drew Lee close to her in a hug he barely reciprocated.

"We need this, Lee. It'll hurt. But we need this."

Lee just stood there, not fully able to comprehend what was happening.

"I love you."

But Lee didn't respond like he usually did.

Steeling herself for the hardest thing she ever had to do, Kara picked up her duffle once more and walked to the hatch.

She turned back to look at Lee one more time.

He was still standing in the middle of their quarters.

Frozen in place.

And he probably stayed like that as Kara walked away. Fighting hard to keep her tears from falling.

* * *

**So what do you think of these turn of events? How about the focus on Six? **

**She'll play a larger role in the future.**


	45. Chapter 45

It was getting late, and she had been off duty for hours already, but Kara sat at her desk reading through a stack of backed up After Action Reports. Not because there was an urgent need to get them signed, initialed, and sent over to the XO, but because she needed something to keep her mind off of her husband.

It was amazing to realize just exactly how much time they spent together in their off hours. Kara now had entire chunks of time to fill by herself, while before she used to spend it with Lee, talking, working, fighting, and making love (funny…she never even considered calling it that until Lee came along).

Nearly a week had passed since she left Lee standing in the middle of their quarters in an attempt to jolt him into telling her what was wrong. But so far, there was nothing. She remembered hanging back at the last senior staff meeting, hoping to hear something, anything from Lee. Instead, he just sat there, fumbling with his papers and avoiding her eyes, just waiting for her to leave before him.

Kara let out a frustrated sigh and grabbed another AAR. How had Lee done it for all those years?

How had he endured her moods?

How did he manage to get her to open up and talk when all others gave her a wide berth?

Would she be able to do the same for him?

A knock sounded from the hatch, startling Kara from her thoughts, messing the uncharacteristically neat stacks of paper on her desk.

"Come in," she called out as she rearranged the papers into proper piles once more.

The hatch opened and revealed Kaplan, with streaks of grease on her face and coveralls, and looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Hey, Kaplan. What's up?"

"I just came to tell you that we wrapped up repairs on Moonface's Viper, Major."

"Ah."

Moonface was one of the newest pilots aboard Pegasus. He'd freaked on his first landing under actual combat conditions and had sheared off a wing and damaged his engines while sliding across the landing deck.

"We'll have to take the bird up to the landing bay to calibrate the engines and zero the guns next."

Kara sensed the displeasure in Kaplan's voice. Engine calibrations and zeroing of a Viper's weapons meant that an entire maintenance crew would have to spend hours in claustrophobic pressure suits in zero-g. The work was tedious as it was dangerous, only to be followed by hours of more checks done on the hangar deck before a bird could be cleared.

"Okay," Kara nodded. "Get some sleep. That stuff can wait until the morning."

She expected Kaplan to take her leave, but the woman didn't. Curious to know why, Kara asked, "Something on your mind, Petty Officer?"

Kaplan looked nervous, but her voice was steady as she asked, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Somewhat surprised, Kara replied, "Sure. Have a seat," she gestured towards the chair across from her. "Go ahead."

"Uh…most of the crew…uhm…I mean most of us in the Air Group…know that you and the Commander are having problems."

Kara was instantly nervous. With entertainment options limited, and nothing better to do, the crew had become supreme gossip mongers over the years. "And…"

Kaplan suddenly blurted out, "I was married for four years before the attacks."

Kara slightly rocked back in shock at the sudden change in subject.

"He was an ODST corpsman on the Assault Carrier Aries. And it was hard. We barely got to see each other…didn't even have a place to call our own. Just a storage unit. We stayed in cheap motels when we could match our leave time…And we fought a lot," Kaplan smirked a bit at her memories. "Mostly about stupid things."

"Somehow, Pegasus and Aries both made port calls on Canceron at the same time. I found out I was pregnant a month later."

Kara's eyebrows lifted just a fraction of an inch. She hadn't known that about one of her most trusted deckhands. She wondered what happened to the baby, since until the arrival of the refugees of New Caprica, Pegasus wasn't home to any children.

"When I told my husband, I thought everything was going to work out just fine."

The petty officer had a wistful smile on her face as she recalled the plans that she and her husband had made once they knew she was pregnant.

"We had it all planned out. I was going to transfer to a planetside posting. We were going to find a place to live in a decent neighborhood, muster out at the end of our terms, and switch over to civilian jobs. I mean, paramedics are always in high demand or he could have become a cop...joined a SWAT team...and I was only a few credits short of getting my degree and teaching license. It was perfect."

Kara couldn't help but feel the happy emotions that swirled around Kaplan's story. But she knew the inevitable end was coming.

Kaplan's demeanor changed as her story reached its end. Her normally twinkling eyes iced over and her neck muscles twitched angrily.

"Then the attacks happened…and Admiral Cain found out that I was pregnant…"

Kara could barely repress her horror as her unasked question from earlier was answered.

Kaplan kept speaking. Her voice began to shake with anger. "I wasn't sorry to see the bitch die. Most of the women on this ship weren't."

Kara had only heard stories about how some of the men, mostly officers in positions of pseudo-authority, had gone nearly feral under Cain's dictatorial rule. When she first came aboard the ship, she'd noticed that women always traveled in groups, and that at least one of them was always armed. It wasn't until Lee took command and whipped the crew back into shape, purging the worst offenders in the process, did the female members of the crew begin walking alone again.

"Sorry, Major. Got a little carried away there," Kaplan said, bringing Kara back to the present. The petty officer composed herself, hastily wiping away the few tears that fell and sniffing loudly.

"No…" Kara said, a bit dazed at the intensely personal story she'd just heard. "It's alright…"

Kaplan stood. "I should go."

Kara merely nodded. But when the other woman was about to pull the hatch open, she called out, "Kaplan…I'm sorry about what happened.

Kaplan pulled the chain around her neck from under her tanks and showed Kara the gold wedding band hanging with her dog tags.

"This and a couple of photos are all I have left."

She dropped the chain back under her clothing.

"From one woman to another, Major…What you have is something you'll find only once in a lifetime. But you have to fight for it. Don't let it get away."

* * *

Later that night, as she had done for several days now, Kara made sure that the hatch to her office was securely locked before she moved to the cramped space behind her desk to pull out a thin foam mattress and a sleeping bag. She unrolled them onto the cold deck before stripping down to her tanks and panties.

She reached into her duffle bag, which she kept in a corner of her office, and pulled out a shirt. It had been Lee's at one time, and she occasionally snuck it into his regular rotation so that he'd wear it and the smell would be preserved, but she'd taken it as her own just after his accident.

It had comforted her during those long nights in sickbay when the hiss-click of the ventilator and the beeping of the monitors became too much for her to take. And she sought comfort in it now, holding the soft fabric against her cheek and breathing deeply to take in the scent.

But what had helped her sleep in the past, now only taunted her with happy memories of what they used to be..

It reminded her of hours spent on their couch, doing paperwork, bitching about their days, and laughing about the idiocy of one crewmember or another.

Of nights when they decided that sleep was overrated and spent hours making love at a leisurely pace.

Of time simply spent in each other's arms, needing nothing more than the other's presence to feel comfort in their crazy, unpredictable reality.

It reminded her that their first wedding anniversary was fast approaching and they were being torn apart by something she couldn't control.

Lee's t-shirt became a balled up bunch of fabric in her fist as she buried her face into the fabric. Tears began to well up in her eyes and a few leaked out as she fought back her sobs. Her other hand came up to her dog tags. The metal discs clinked against her ring.

She could feel the slight indentation of the stamped lettering on the metal beneath her fingers: _K. Adama._ A symbol of the vow she made to the one man she gave her heart to; completely and without reservation.

Kaplan said that she had to fight.

She was good at fighting.

She fought all her life in order to survive.

But now, when it truly mattered…

Why was it so hard?

What had happened that made them this way?

She'd been so sure that he'd come after her. Tell her what was wrong and that they'd work through it. Together.

But he hadn't.

'_Doesn't he love me anymore?'_

The dam finally broke, and Kara fell to her knees. The sleeping bag and foam mat did little to cushion the hard deck.

And for the first time in nearly a year, Kara Adama truly wept.

* * *

**We'll find out why Lee's been acting so weird in the next chapter.**

**Anyone have any guesses as to why?**

**Grand prize is bragging rights!**


	46. Chapter 46

**As I promised, whatever it is that is bothering Lee will be revealed in this installment.**

* * *

Kara's eyes were slightly swollen from her crying the night before, so she spent most of the morning cooped up in her office, not wanting to deal with the lingering glances of the crew. So she sat at her desk, signing off on paperwork, going through stacks for the knuckledragger who doubled as her clerk to take to the XO.

But the problem with doing paperwork for extended periods of time is that people soon settle into a rhythm, and minds begin to wander. Kara found hers beginning to drift back to the issue of her husband.

How the hell was she going to confront him?

Especially after she had been the one to walk away.

She thought of all the things she could do to get Lee to open up and talk to her. And as her mind thought up one possibility after another, it also recalled the things she used to do in similar situations.

Clam up.

Punch something or someone.

Run away.

Get drunk.

Use someone, anyone, to get her mind off things-only to have it all crashing back tenfold afterwards.

Kara shuddered at the last thought.

Lee wasn't the kind to turn to some random person for sex.

Was he?

He wasn't her.

Hell. She wasn't that person anymore.

Thanks to Lee.

And she was all the better for it.

But the problem was whether or not she could do the same for him.

Because as good as she was at keeping things to herself and avoiding directly confronting demons, he was even better. Whereas people could see that she was acting out and had a story to be coaxed out of her, as Lee had done while they were still at the Academy, Lee functioned as if nothing was wrong. She'd only learned of Carolanne Adama's alcoholism and emotional abuse towards him years later in front of a fire on New Caprica.

And it seemed that not even Zak, who lived under the same roof for years, had been aware that anything was wrong.

Lee was just that good at keeping things from people, and even though Kara wanted-needed-to know what was bothering him, she was also terrified at the prospect of finding out what exactly was going on.

Especially if Lee couldn't keep it from bubbling over into the rest of his life.

Her eyes drifted to her watch. Much to her surprise, hours had passed without her realizing.

"Frak…" she muttered as she pulled out her bottom desk drawer and grabbed the bundle she'd stashed away inside.

Kara quickly stood and exited her office.

She had somewhere to be.

* * *

Pegasus' hangar bay was buzzing with activity of a different kind than normal. Several civilian shuttles lined the deck and many refugees who had been living in Pegasus' empty cargo bay were filing in, carrying their few possessions with them.

Lee had begun moving the civilians off of his ship months before, but it was only recently that he found space on relatively safe ships for those with children.

The hangar was filled with people, including many off-duty crewmembers who came to say goodbye. Much of the crew had become fond of having children around, they were a welcome distraction in their off hours, and gave the men and women a sense of purpose.

Even Lee and Kara often took time to visit Kacey, even occasionally taking her for a couple hours at a time when they were off shift to give her mother a break. The little girl had quickly won them over with her bubbly personality and refusal to let anything get her down, and they scrounged around the fleet for anything that would make her life a little better.

But, having children aboard was also a problem. Lee found that he couldn't take the same risks in combat as he used to, because of Pegasus' civilian contingent. It was getting to the point where he was getting reluctant to directly engage the Cylons for fear of letting anyone get hurt.

And if he was honest with himself, it was because he didn't want to see Kacey hurt.

So now here he was, standing on the hangar deck, getting ready to say goodbye to the little girl who completely bowled him over. At his feet was a bag full of clothes he'd bartered for while trying not to think too much about how they came to be available. It was mostly things for Kacey, clothes and a pair of shoes she would quickly grow into, but he'd gotten things for her mother as well.

He scanned the outgoing stream of refugees, trying to find the familiar mess of blond curls bouncing among the crowd. But what caught his eye instead, was Kara in her blue duty uniform standing out among the sea of drab, faded civvies. She was looking down and laughing at something, and Lee's eyes traveled downwards to see that it was Kacey, looking back up at his wife, giggling and clutching a brightly colored doll in one hand and holding her mother's hand in the other.

Despite their current troubles, Lee couldn't help but let a small smile appear on his face as he wondered what it would be like if Kacey was actually holding Kara's hand, and the little girl was actually their daughter. They'd never discussed having children. With their respective backgrounds and current situation, neither of them knew how to broach the subject, but that didn't stop Lee from occasionally dreaming of having a brood of their children running around and wreaking havoc like only he and Kara could.

The three ladies climbed down the ladder and continued to walk across the deck.

Lee bent down to pick up the bag by his feet when Kacey caught sight of her friend.

"Lee!"

Kacey yanked her hand out of her mother's and barreled across the deck, slamming into Lee's legs in what had become their usual greeting

"Hi, Kacey," Lee grunted as he lifted the girl into his arms. "Ooh, you're getting big...pretty soon, you're going to be the one carrying me!"

Kacey giggled at the notion of being able to lift Lee up. Grown ups could be silly sometimes.

"Is that a new doll?" Lee asked. Up close, he could see that the doll was a furry monster from what had been a long-running children's program on the Colonies. He remembered watching the same character when he had been a child.

Kacey nodded. "Kara gave it to me."

"Did she now?"

"Uh huh," Kacey said happily, waving the doll in Lee's face.

"Well that was nice of her."

"Okay, down you go," Lee grunted as he set Kacey onto the deck. The girl really was growing quickly. She'd grown at least an inch and a half since she first tugged at his trousers while looking for her mother.

Lee straightened to talk to Mrs. Brynn, and managed to almost hide his surprise to see Kara standing right by.

"Hi. Are you all set?" he managed to get out without sounding too ill at ease at the presence of his wife as she bent down to keep Kacey occupied.

"Yes. We've got everything," Mrs. Brynn waved the worn sack holding their meager belongings.

Lee bent down to pick up the bag at his feet and held it out. "Here. I got you and Kacey some things."

Mrs. Brynn's face morphed into a grateful smile and the haunted look that was so often in her eyes whenever Lee saw her disappeared for a moment. "Thank you."

Lee smiled back, "You're welcome."

"_Shuttle 1508 bound for Space Wanderer will soon be departing. All passengers bound for the Space Wanderer, please board the shuttle immediately."_

Kara straightened up at the announcement and gave Kacey a little nudge towards her mother, and moved to stand beside Lee, although she unconsciously kept a bit of a gap between them.

"That's us," Mrs. Brynn said, grasping Kacey's hand. "Thank you again, Commander. Major. For everything."

"No problem," Kara said.

The sound of her voice startled Lee somewhat. This was the first time in days he heard her speak outside of a staff meeting.

Mrs. Brynn turned to glance at the shuttle before looking back at Kara and Lee. "I guess this is goodbye, then. Say 'Bye,' to the Commander and Major, Kacey."

It was only then that Kacey began to realize that she really was leaving Pegasus for good. She began to cast bewildered glances to and from the adults around her, as well as the shuttle behind her.

"Bye?" she said quietly.

Lee knelt down so that he was eye-level with the little girl. "Bye, Kacey.

Kacey's face scrunched up, and she pulled herself away from her mother to tightly wrap her arms around Lee's neck. Lee hugged back, but stiffened in shock when he heard a little sniffle in his ear.

He stood up, bounced Kacey a little in his arms, and leaned back to see that she had tears streaking down her face.

"Hey…don't cry," Lee said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "Where you're going will be great. You'll have a cabin to share with only your mom and not a bunch of people…a private bathroom…it's warm there. Not cold like it is here. They even have a playground where you can play with other kids."

Kacey perked a bit at the word 'playground.' She could sort of remember outings with her mother to a place called the 'playground' a long time ago.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

It was Kara who realized what was bothering Kacey so much. She stepped closer to Lee and rubbed a hand up and down the little girl's back.

"And we'll come visit," Kara added.

Kacey turned her head to look at Kara. "Promise?"

Kara smiled, "Yeah."

Kacey shot her arm out and grabbed Kara behind the neck, pulling her in to join in on the hug with the strength that surprised Lee during their first meeting. The three of them stood like that for a moment until a voice called out over the intercom: _"Final call for Shuttle 1508 bound for the Space Wanderer. All passengers bound for the Space Wanderer, please board the shuttle now."_

Lee said, "You've got to go, Kacey."

Kara gave Kacey a comforting smile from across Lee's shoulder, and seeing Kacey smile back, she knew that the little girl was going to be just fine.

Kara leaned forward and impulsively pressed a kiss against Kacey's cheek, "Bye, Sweetie."

"Bye."

Lee set Kacey down and nudged her towards her mother.

"Well...Goodbye," Mrs. Brynn said, taking Kacey's hand once again.

The two of them turned and walked up the ramp of their designated shuttle, bound for a more comfortable life aboard an interplanetary cruise ship.

Kacey turned back and gave Kara and Lee a smile and a wave from the hatch before following her mother inside.

Kara and Lee smiled and waved back as the hatch closed. They stayed where they were as the shuttle was towed to a hydraulic lift and was raised up into the landing bay.

Only then did they turn around and exit the hangar bay.

* * *

Kara's mind was racing as she walked with Lee out of the hangar bay and back into Pegasus proper. Today was the closest she had been to Lee in a week. It wasn't the longest they'd ever been physically separated, but it certainly was the hardest, and she didn't want to drag it out any longer.

This was her opportunity to confront him.

She _had_ to confront him, because in the span of those few minutes on the hangar deck, Lee made Kara feel an entire cascade of emotions that she hadn't felt in a while. Those thoughts of having children that had laid dormant in her mind came flooding back to her as she watched Lee with Kacey. To have seen him so at ease with a small child, and finding out once again that she and Kacey got along so well made the terrifying prospect of raising a family with Lee seem inherently doable.

But none of that would happen if she didn't get Lee to open up and tell her what was bugging him so much.

Only, she hadn't been able to think up a way to go about doing it.

They weren't even talking, for frak's sake.

They continued to walk in silence, feeling completely awkward in each other's presence, until they reached the stretch of corridor where the CAG's office was located. That was when Kara decided to act.

She knew that when it came down to it, she'd never be able to beat Lee in a brawl. The only reason why she ever won their sparring matches was because of her penchant for cheating and his anal-retentive need to follow the rules and be in control of his emotions all the time.

So Kara decided to fight dirty.

As they approached the hatch to her office, Kara took a couple of large steps forward to pull slightly ahead. She opened the hatch and when Lee caught up, she grabbed in by the arm and yanked him inside.

Lee had no time to react as he was roughly pulled into a dark room with the hatch slammed shut and locked behind him. He felt himself being pushed down onto a couch of some sort before the lights were flicked on and he could see Kara standing above him, fixing him with an intense stare.

"What-?"

Lee tried to stand up, but Kara pushed down on his shoulder.

"Sit down," she said.

Lee began to try and reason with her, "Kar-"

But Kara interrupted him, "Talk."

He shook his head and breathed, "You're fraking insane…"

"Yeah. I am." Lee moved to stand back up, but she shoved him right back down, digging her knuckles into his sternum, causing him to fall back onto the couch with a wince of pain. "Now talk."

"About what?"

"About what the frak is bugging you!"

Lee shook his head. "Nothing is 'bugging' me," he insisted.

Kara threw out her arms in exasperation, "Like hell it's not."

Lee moved to stand once again, this time roughly shoving Kara's hands out of the way as she tried to keep him sitting.

"I've got a ship to run."

He pushed past her and moved towards the hatch, but Kara wasn't about to let him go so easily.

"Well I've got a marriage to save," she retorted angrily as she followed Lee. "And so do you!"

But Lee acted like he hadn't heard what Kara said and reached out to unlock the hatch.

"Godsdammit, you fraking coward!"

Kara's hand shot out to stop Lee from touching the hatch, but he swung his arm out, pushing Kara back to stumble hard into her desk. Her yelp of pain caused Lee to turn back to see Kara straightening up while clutching at where her hip collided with the desk.

"Oh gods, Kara. I'm sorry…"

But Kara's fist collided with his jaw before he could finish his apology.

And that was it. Kara and Lee disappeared, and they regressed to being Starbuck and Apollo, the frak-up pilot and stuck-up CAG, with each blow they exchanged.

In the cramped confines of Kara's office, although they could land blows that were solid and true, neither of them could get any real power behind their punches.

They matched each other blow for blow, exchanging punches and throwing the other against the bulkheads and furniture while attempting to gain the upper hand. But Kara wasn't out to knock Lee out. She just needed him off-balance, but it looked like this fight would last a while, and she didn't know if she could outlast Lee in terms of endurance.

They were both beginning to get exhausted when Lee threw a wild roundhouse punch that Kara easily ducked. Using his momentary imbalance to her advantage, Kara surged forward to pin Lee against the bulkhead behind him. She bound her arms around his and held firm as he tried to struggle out of her grip.

Soon, Kara could feel Lee's bucking and jerking growing weaker as the fight left him, and he simply slumped down, defeated.

Kara shifted her grip so that she was merely embracing Lee and not restraining him.

"We can't keep doing this," she whispered, despite the fact that they were the only people in the room.

Lee brought his hands up to tightly grip handfuls of her uniform jacket.

"We can't keep beating the crap out of each other just because one of us doesn't want to talk."

Kara tilted her head back and brought her hands up to Lee's face. His eyes were red and tears traced watery paths down his face.

"Talk to me," she said, maintaining her quiet tone as she led Lee back to her couch.

"It's me. Your wife, remember? Tell me what's bothering you."

Lee shook his head. "No…I can't…"

Kara grasped Lee's face in her hands and forced him to look at her.

"It's stupid…" he said.

"Just tell me."

She could see the struggle behind his eyes as he fought with himself.

Should he tell her?

Shouldn't he?

What was it that had him so afraid that she'd react negatively to what he had to say?

"A ph…"

But the word caught in his throat.

Lee swallowed hard and tried again.

"A photo," he managed to choke out.

Kara wasn't sure she heard him properly. "What?"

Lee bowed his head and spoke into his chest, "A photo of Ellen."

Kara cupped Lee's chin to bring his eyes back to hers as she fought back her own tears. It was hard to see the raw emotion in those eyes that normally provided her with so much comfort, but she needed to do this. She needed to see…hear…she needed to understand. "What do you mean?"

"When I had to go through Tigh's personal effects…It was all Tigh had left. A photo of Ellen with a hole burned through her face. He'd probably traded everything else he had for booze."

Lee fell against the back of the couch and squeezed his eyes shut at the memory.

"The man lost everything, and threw away pretty much anything that was left…And all I could think was: 'I don't even have that.'"

He laughed sardonically at his own actions but quickly sobered back.

"A man died and all I could think of was myself and that if I lost you…I wouldn't even have a photo to remember you by."

Kara had no idea what to say.

There was nothing she could say.

All she could do was draw Lee towards her and press a kiss against his lips, to tell him that she wasn't angry and that everything would be alright, and hope that the he could feel all that she couldn't find the words for.

And she could feel him responding to the kiss as his own arms came up to press their bodies closer together.

They shifted on the couch until he was sitting back against the cushions and she was straddling his lap.

But the touch of each others lips wasn't enough.

They both needed more.

They needed to feel the other totally, completely, and regain the intimacy that they'd lost in the past months.

Clothes were shrugged off and hands and mouths explored what used to be familiar territory once again as they relished skin-to-skin contact once more.

Their movements were slow and steady; their rhythm was kept by their gasps and sighs.

But it soon became too much.

Their quiet noises quickly grew into moans as their hips began bucking wildly against each other.

They were flying.

Soaring higher and higher, bursting like a brilliant rocket against an inky black sky.

But all too soon, they came back down to reality, their sweat-soaked bodies chilled by Pegasus' environmental control systems, and the sound of their breaths all but drowned out by the ship's constant humming.

Kara got up briefly to get the sleeping bag behind her desk and returned to the couch to cover them up.

Back in each other's arms, they curled up on the couch in a tangle of limbs.

Kara could feel Lee shaking against her as his body was racked by sobs. She cradled his head against her chest and felt his tears slide down against her skin.

"We'll work through this, Lee," she said as she let her own tears fall. "We will."

* * *

**A photo of Ellen. That was the trigger. No one wins the prize this time around.**

**A couple of Lee's actions in the past few chapters might make a bit more sense now.**

**I may have laid it on a little too thick this chapter. What do you think?**


	47. Chapter 47

**A pin drops and I'm deafened.**

**It's been real quiet lately. Is everything alright out there?**

* * *

Kara quietly slipped out of the quarters she shared with Lee and into the corridor. They'd gone back to their stateroom, using Pegasus' lesser-used access corridors to avoid the eyes of the crew wherever they could, while clutching at each other tightly-as if one of them would vanish into thin air if they eased the grips of their balled up fists on the other's uniform.

They'd barely made it beyond the hatch before they fell into each other's embrace for the second time that day, leaving a trail of clothing across the deck towards their rack.

Now Lee was asleep, having barely slept since Kara walked out to try and jolt him into talking, while Kara had stayed awake, unable to sleep. Their relationship was righting itself again, as it usually did, but she couldn't just let it happen like she used to.

Not anymore.

Because for them, getting married had seemed like nothing more than just something that had been ticked off of a to-do list–they hadn't even done anything particularly celebratory on their wedding night-that they never fully understood the stakes if their relationship as husband and wife hit a rough patch.

Now, because it seemed as if they just barely made through their first major fight since getting married, Kara realized that they would need to be more active in the way they patched things up, rather than just hoping for everything to be forgotten in the passage of time.

The words Kaplan had said to her rang through her mind: _"__What you have is something you'll find only once in a lifetime. But you have to fight for it. Don't let it get away."_

She just didn't know exactly how to go about doing that.

The logical first step was for her to move back into their quarters, so she was doing exactly that.

Kara marched straight into her office and flicked on the lights. The sleeping bag she and Lee had used for warmth after their frantic love making earlier that day was lying in a heap on the deck. She simply stepped over it and made her way to where her duffle bag was tucked away behind her desk.

She'd intended to simply grab it at get back to Lee, but Kara grasped the straps too low and the duffle's contents spilled to the deck.

"Ah, great…" she softly muttered to herself as she bent to pick up the fallen articles of clothing and stuffed them back into her duffle.

Just as she put the last sock back, she noticed a scrap of paper on the deck.

And although it was face down on the deck, she could immediately tell what it was by its familiar creases.

It was her photo.

Lee had said that if he'd lost her, he wouldn't have anything to remember her by.

She'd never told anybody, but she knew how that felt.

Because during those interminable hours after Lee took Pegasus after Galactica, she'd thought she'd lost him forever, and that the only photo she had of Lee had been in their quarters when the syringe was plunged into her thigh.

Now she was staring at that photo. She was in the embrace of another man as the love of her life stood awkwardly to the side, completely unaware of the potential he had, even though it was right there-bubbling just below the surface where everyone else could see it, and bursting out whenever he had to step up and take charge.

"Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer. Forgive me please. I thought I was in love with a man when in truth my heart always belonged to his brother."

Kara wiped away the tears that leaked out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zak," she whispered as she carefully tore her photo along the crease from where she had folded and refolded it countless times. "Thank you for everything."

She tucked the larger piece away into her duffle, but put the piece with Lee into her breast pocket. She would find a proper frame for it later

0000000000

Lee was still asleep when Kara came back to their darkened quarters, so she placed her duffle bag on their couch before quietly padding across the stateroom to their sleeping area. She sat down on the rack and began to unbutton her jacket.

His soft voice startled her, "Are you going somewhere?"

Kara turned to see Lee blinking up at her with eyes that were as red and swollen as hers had felt that morning.

"No, I'm coming back. I just had some things to do."

Kara went back to unbuttoning her jacket and laid it on the deck before turning her attention to her boots.

"What time is it?" Lee mumbled as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Kara toed off her socks and began to shimmy out of her trousers. "Doesn't matter."

Lee pulled the blanket off of his lap and moved to get out of bed, "I should-"

But Kara stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I told the XO that you're not feeling well."

"But-" Lee began to protest.

"And Hammerhead can handle the air group by himself for a day."

Kara reached to pull the blanket back over Lee. "Lie down," she said, and Lee obeyed.

She quickly pulled off the last of her clothing and slipped beneath the blanket to lie beside her husband once again, stretching and shifting to maneuver their bodies into a gentle embrace.

The simple intimacy of just lying together.

Neither of them had realized how important it had become in their lives and their ability to sleep.

"I missed this," Kara whispered

"Me too."

Kara lifted her head so that they were looking at each other in the eye. "Don't shut me out again, Lee. We can't let stuff like this tear us apart."

Lee bit his lip as her words sunk in. He had wanted to tell her soon after Tigh's funeral, but couldn't find a way to. And such a little thing began to gnaw away at him and his ability to communicate with his own wife.

"I wanted to tell you," he whispered. "I wanted to tell you so badly…but the more I thought about it, the stupider it sounded."

"Just tell me the next time something's bugging you…Okay?" Kara placed a small kiss against Lee's lips. "I promise I won't punch your lights out no matter how stupid you think it is."

They both laughed softly, although it was more out of relief that they were beginning to be at ease with each other again instead of because they found any humor behind Kara's quip.

They settled back into each other's arms, content with just being together for the moment.

Lee took a shaky breath as sleep began to claim them.

"I love you."

Kara smiled against his skin. This was the first time either of them had said those words in months.

"I love you too, Lee."

'_I always have and I always will.'_

* * *

**A bit more schmaltz in the next chapter, then I'm going to start having fun with these two.**


	48. Chapter 48

A couple of days after Lee's confession, Kara walked into the commander's stateroom holding a camera and a packet of photo paper she got in a swap that involved a severely damaged Viper engine and a barrel of grease. In all, she thought she got the better end of the bargain, because the engine had been shot up so badly that most of it couldn't even be used for parts, and Pegasus had been running low on grease for its planes.

Lee was home before her for once, standing in front of their shared closet while stripping out of his jacket. She quickly crossed the room and pressed herself against Lee's back with her arms wrapping around his abdomen.

"Hey, honey," Kara said in an exaggerated husky voice just before she placed a kiss on the back of Lee's neck.

They giggled at this. They rarely used endearments-they rarely even called each other Starbuck and Apollo anymore-so it felt a little weird. They were always Kara and Lee when they were together, totally and completely. There was no need for any other identities.

Lee brought his hands to where Kara's were linked together on his stomach, but his touch went from gentle to probing when he felt an odd-shaped object in Kara's hands being pressed against him. Looking down, he saw that it was a camera.

He turned in Kara's embrace to face her and asked, "What's with the camera?"

Kara smiled nervously, unsure about how her husband would react. Knowing Lee, there was a chance that he could become moody again if she brought up the issue that nearly tore them apart.

"What you said, you know, about us not having any photos…" Kara looked up into Lee's eyes as her lips twitched into her familiar smirk. "Maybe we should fix that."

Lee's smile was so wide that it almost hurt to bring his lips together when he leaned in to kiss Kara.

* * *

A week later, Kara sat down at her desk and pulled out the manila envelope she brought with her from under her arm. Opening the envelope, she slid its contents onto her work surface. They were two of three picture frames that she had made. The other was sitting on Lee's desk in his ready room along with an envelope.

She'd found some sturdy cardboard and had scrounged around for a set of colored pencils that weren't completely worn down to nubs before sitting down and getting to work. The results looked like something a child would make for an art project at school, but she poured her heart and soul into those frames, because she wanted someplace fitting for the photos she'd had printed out the day before.

One of the frames was narrower than most would be, because it contained only a third of a photo and showed Lee staring awkwardly up at her. The other frame was wider and contained a slightly fuzzy photo of the two of them. Their smiles were lazy as they gazed up at the camera Kara held in her hand. Part of her face was obscured by Lee's as he had turned to look at her as she leaned into him the moment she'd depressed the shutter button.

Kara felt a feeling of warmth flood through her every time she saw that photo, and she was sure that it would never go away, for this photo would forever be a reminder that she and Lee could make it through any rough patch.

As she moved her frames around her desk, looking for the perfect spots, Kara wondered if Lee had a chance to stop by his ready room this morning.

* * *

Lee flicked on the lights in his ready room. It had been a long morning spent dealing with supply issues and the latest ring of beacons Pegasus' Raptor scouts had discovered. He needed a moment to himself before going back out to face another litany of woe from civilian ship commanders. At least he had lunch with Kara to look forward to. He had something special he wanted to give her tucked away in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Making sure that the hatch was secure behind him first, Lee fell back onto his couch in a heap. He was going to close his eyes for a minute, but an envelope and something made of cardboard sitting on his coffee table caught his attention.

He reached for the cardboard first. It was two pieces stuck together with glue, with a hole cut into one to make some sort of frame. Colored pencils had been used to draw an intricate, twisting design that swirled around the corners. One look at the envelope confirmed his sneaking suspicion as to who had put these objects in his ready room.

On the front, in Kara's familiar handwriting, was his name.

Inside was a photo. Just one glance was enough for Lee to know that it wasn't one that either he or Kara had taken the week before. From the background, it looked as if it had been taken on Pegasus' hangar deck, and it showed Kara smiling brightly for the camera, completely unguarded in a way that only he got to see when they were alone in the comfort of their own quarters, away from their troubles.

Kara had clearly intended for Lee to put the photo in the frame she'd made, so Lee decided to do just that. But as he worked to manipulate the photo into the cardboard, he saw that there was writing on the back.

What he saw caused tears of happiness to well up in his eyes:

_Lee,_

_I smile like this because I have you and your love in my life._

_Know that I love you just as much and will never stop loving you._

_I'm yours forever._

_Happy Anniversary,_

_-Kara_

* * *

**I can say with 99% certainty that this is the last of the fluff until the end of this story. But then again, since when does anything ever go according to plan?**

**In the mean time, why don't you click on that shiny new green button at the bottom of your screen?**


	49. Chapter 49

_She was back in her apartment on Caprica and had to grin at the memory of the last time she'd had this dream years ago while lying in sickbay. This time, she would wake up and be able to roll over to jump Lee's bones and tell him all about this. She knew they'd laugh...and maybe make love all over again.  
_

_The mandala on her wall. That's where it had happened last time, so that's where she went._

_She stood there and waited for those arms to come around her and pull her close._

_But instead a rough hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around._

_It wasn't Lee._

_It was Leoben, that Cylon she'd interrogated all those years ago, leering at her with a hungry, predatory look in his eyes._

_Just as she realized what was about to happen, she was thrown hard against the wall and the Cylon's lips were roughly traveling across her skin._

_No…_

_He was pawing and grabbing at her body._

_The apartment filled with the noises of ripping fabric as he got closer and closer to touching her bare flesh._

_She wanted to struggle-fight him off-but it was as if her limbs were made of lead. She couldn't move them._

_Her hands were slammed against the wall and a knee forced her legs apart._

_Tears streamed down her face._

_She was ready to scream and beg to be left alone, but her body refused to cooperate. She couldn't do anything. Her body was Leoben's-to do with as he pleased._

_And just as he was about finally press himself against her body-to defile her in the most horrific way she thought possible-_

_She fell backwards through the wall._

_Through the mandala._

_She was floating in a white haze._

_Alone and in complete silence._

_Then._

_In the distance._

_She saw a dot coming towards her, getting larger and larger as it did._

_It was an image._

_A series of images, all coming towards her._

_Her and Lee._

_From the day they met and through the years._

_Memories both happy and painful._

_As she went through guy after guy while he could only stand by and pine._

_As she watched with unacknowledged, but deeply burning jealousy as he turned his attention to other women in an attempt to forget his attraction to the one seemingly out of reach._

_All those years of being in a platonic relationship that outweighed any sexual relationship they had with other people; wanting to take the next step but never seeming to get the timing right._

_Dancing on Cloud Nine._

_The angry blows they exchanged the day after._

_Their kiss on the Astral Queen._

_Almost having sex in the duty locker._

_Their awkward goodbye before she got ready to leave for Caprica and Anders._

_She saw herself on the hangar deck as the alarms went off,_

_Her desperate dash through Pegasus' corridors,_

_Those weeks by Lee's bedside when she finally admitted to herself that she loved him,_

_And their years together._

_Their tentative steps towards romance blossoming into love and marriage._

_The memories came faster and faster._

_Each zoomed past until they reached the present._

_But they didn't stop._

_She saw image after image, going by so quickly that it was all just a blur._

_Until finally, the flashing images settled on a single scene…_

_There she was, looking several years older_

_She was sitting in a hospital bed, obviously tired and disheveled. But the look on her face was one of pure joy as she cooed at the bundle in her arms._

_She was a mother…_

_Then the dream Kara looked up and smiled even more widely when two small children-twins whose features were a blend of hers and Lee's-peeked over the side of her bed to catch a glimpse of their new sibling._

_Lee then entered her vision, walking towards the bed and gently touching the older children to try and still their anxious bouncing._

_They looked up at their father, quietly giggling in excitement, and asked him a question that she couldn't quite hear._

_The Lee and Kara in her dream exchanged a look, and at Kara's nod, Lee hoisted the kids up and gently sat them at her side to properly say hello to the newest addition to their family._

_And while the entire family was focused on the baby, the dream-Kara looked up-straight at her._

_The two versions of herself made eye-contact and the dream-Kara smiled and said three words: "Don't be afraid."_

* * *

Kara's eyes snapped open. She pushed herself up to confirm that she was awake and back in her rack with Lee.

She was sweating. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

She could almost hear it echoing through her body.

The dream.

Oh gods…

What did all that mean?

"S'going on?"

Lee's sleepy voice startled her. She'd pressed down hard on his chest when she awoke, rousing him from his own dreams.

"Nothing…just a dream."

"Bad one?"

"No…" she lied. "Weird."

Lee shifted, moving to sit up and face Kara. "Wanna talk about it?"

But she just placed a firm hand on his chest to keep him still. She wanted to tell him. But wasn't ready just yet. She wanted to work this out on her own before she told him.

"It's just one of those dreams with all those swirling colors and everything's wavy. You know?"

"Okay."

Lee didn't sound convinced, but sleep was already retaking him. He settled back onto his back, and Kara lowered herself next to him, securing herself in his embrace.

She stayed still for a moment before lifting her head. "Lee?"

"Mmh?" came the sleepy reply.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

She settled her head back down against Lee's chest and focused on the beating of his heart. But tonight, it did little to soothe her. She lay awake, staring out in the darkness-afraid to go to sleep for fear of seeing that face again.

* * *

**This installment's speculation game: So where do we go from here?**


	50. Chapter 50

**Congratulations to arielmoondance. You've won last installment's speculation game with your answer of "some sort of turmoil." :)  
**

* * *

Kara was quiet the next morning as she and Lee got ready for the day. She worked her arms into the sleeves of her flight suit while Lee carried on a mostly one-sided conversation about something she wasn't following.

"I'll see you at lunch," Lee said, but Kara barely heard him.

"Hmm?"

"I said I'll see you at lunch."

Kara shook her head.

"Can't. I'm busy," she said truthfully. "Some of the veterans are slipping and it's beginning to trickle down to the nuggets. Then I'm leading the first CAP right after we jump this afternoon."

"OK," Lee nodded.

Kara fiddled with her zipper for longer than necessary, immediately putting Lee on alert.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Kara jerked her head up to look at Lee. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered with forced ease.

Lee wasn't convinced, but he was running a bit late and needed to get to CIC.

"OK. I've got to run."

"Alright."

Lee pressed a quick kiss against Kara's lips and had made it all the way to the hatch when she called after him.

"Lee?"

He turned back. "Yeah."

Kara looked as if she had something to say but changed her mind about it. "Never mind. It can wait."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll see you tonight."

* * *

The morning was largely uneventful. Lee spent most of it in CIC conferring with his XO in preparation for the jump scheduled for that afternoon.

The calculations they'd made to postulate the positions of each ring of beacons had proven to be accurate several times over, so President Roslin decided to jump the entire fleet at once, instead of sending one of the battlestars ahead, only to have a Raptor jump back with news.

Because it was all routine, Lee's mind kept on wandering back to Kara and how jumpy she'd been earlier. Something had happened last night when she accidentally woke him up, and it was bugging her. He ate lunch in his ready room alone, wondering how to best bring up the subject when they were back in their quarters that night. He'd just have to be patient, as she had been with him, and wait until she was ready to talk.

Hoshi's voice brought Lee back to the present. "Message from Colonial One: we are to jump on their count, Commander."

"Ship is ready in all respects, sir," the XO added.

Lee nodded. "Thank you, Colonel. Start the clock."

The XO picked up a handset and keyed the intercom. A chime rang through the ship.

"This is the XO. All hands, standby to jump in…thirty seconds."

Thirty seconds appeared on the screens above the chart table and began counting down.

"Fifteen seconds…ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…jump."

The XO turned the key and everyone aboard felt that familiar sucking sensation in their guts as the battlestar ripped through the fabric of space and time to appear a split second later thousands of light years away.

Lee shook off the all too familiar after effects of a FTL jump and looked up as the DRADIS began to scan the surrounding area.

"Jump complete," the XO said. "All systems are in the green, sir."

"Thank you, XO."

Hoshi spoke up from his station. "Message from Galactica, Commander. All ships in the fleet are accounted for. We are to go ahead with searching for the "

"Whoa," came Lewis' voice from where he stood behind the helm station.

"What is it, Captain?"

"A planet, sir," Lewis said, looking up from the helmsman's readout. "Looks like a gas giant. But we're far enough away from its gravity well for it to have any sort of effect on us."

Lee walked over to stand behind the younger officer. "Will this affect the calculations we're using to search for the rings?"

Lewis shook his head. "Don't think it would change things too much, sir. All the beacons we've found have had rudimentary reaction control systems. But I'll crunch the numbers again to make sure."

"Do it," Lee said. He walked back to his usual spot in CIC and ordered: "Launch CAP."

"CAP is away."

* * *

Kara had kept herself busy all morning to try and avoid thinking about that dream, but failed miserably. It had been so disturbingly vivid and played in the back of her mind over and over again. Try as she might, she couldn't get the sight of Leoben's eyes just as he was about to violate her. Kara remembered that look well. Her mother would get that same glint in her eyes after drinking all day and decided to take her frustrations out on her daughter.

It would be a long night of constant pain interrupted only when Socrata Thrace stopped to take a swig from her ever present bottle.

Then there was the second part of that dream. Not disturbing, but just as clear.

She saw herself as a mother. Not once, but three times over.

And she seemed perfectly fine.

Happy and content.

Maybe it was time to tell Lee that she'd been having thoughts about starting a family for nearly a year now.

She wasn't completely sure if she, or he, was ready just yet, but it wouldn't hurt to talk about it. Test the waters and see if Lee was ready.

Just then Kara saw movement in the direction of the gas giant.

She blinked once to make sure that she wasn't seeing things before keying open her wireless to talk to Showboat and Catbird, her wingmen. "Hey, did you see that?"

"_See what?"_

"Cylon Heavy Raider 10 o'clock high."

"_What? I don't see it."_

"_Ditto."_

Kara didn't really hear what they said, though. She called out to Pegasus, "Pegasus. Starbuck. Looks like we've got company. Showboat. Catbird. Stay on my wing. We've got toasters to kill."

* * *

Lee looked up at the screens and over at his XO. The colonel gave a little shrug before looking back up himself.

"Screens are clear, Commander."

* * *

"_Starbuck. Showboat. What Raider? I don't see anything."_

"It's right there. Can't you see it? Check your DRADIS."

"_There's nothing there."_

* * *

A crewman looked up from where he'd been running diagnostics from his workstation. "Systems check shows that there's nothing wrong with our DRADIS, sir."

"Galactica confirms. Their screens are clear" Hoshi announced. "There are no Cylons in the vicinity, Commander."

A wireless transmission came in CIC's speakers. _"Pegasus. Showboat. Requesting private channel to Pegasus Actual."_

Lee picked up a handset and waited as Hoshi flicked several switches before giving him a nod.

"Pegasus Actual. Go ahead, Showboat."

"_Commander, Catbird and I are both showing clear screens. I have no idea what's going on with Starbuck, but she thinks she's chasing something."_

Lee looked up at the DRADIS to see where Kara was in relation to the fleet. "How's she flying?"

"_Steady."_

"Stay on her wing and report if there are any changes."

"_Roger."_

"Stand by, Showboat." Lee pressed the handset in his hand against his shoulder and motioned with his free hand to get his communications officer's attention. "Hoshi, patch me through to Starbuck on another handset."

Hoshi got to work at his station. "Go ahead, sir."

Lee grabbed another handset. "Starbuck. Pegasus. What's going on out there?"

It sounded as if Kara was breathing heavily, but it was hard to tell through the wireless distortion. _"I've got a Heavy Raider dead ahead. I'm in pursuit."_

"Are you sure?"

"_He's right in front of me! We don't usually see these things by themselves. There has to be a basestar nearby. We need more fighters out here."_

Lee brought the handset away from his mouth. "Hoshi…"

The lieutenant knew what his CO was trying to say. "Channel's secure, sir. No need to worry about anyone listening in."

"Kara…" Lee said, fighting to keep the worry out of his voice. "There's nothing there."

"_The frak there isn't, Lee! Get off your ass and send out the alert fighters!"_

There seemed to be no reasoning with Kara. Whatever was going on, she was convinced that she was in pursuit of a Cylon.

Lee brought one handset down to his shoulder and the other one back up to his ear.

"Showboat. Pegasus Actual. Talk to me."

"_No change. We're getting pretty close to the gas giant. And-Standby, Actual."_

The XO saw on the screens what Showboat was seeing close up. "Commander. DRADIS is showing Starbuck entering the gas giant's atmosphere."

* * *

Kara gritted her teeth and tightened her grip around the controls as she gave more juice to her engines. Try as she might, she couldn't close the gap between her Viper and the Heavy Raider. It stayed just outside of the range of her cannon.

She blinked hard. Sweat was pouring into her eyes, making it hard to see, and the lack of sleep was starting to blur her vision.

That Raider was there, right in front of her.

But then it was gone, and in its place, the hazy gasses of the planet's upper atmosphere began to swirl around and around, changing colors from pale blue, and turning into something else entirely.

Bold primary colors swirling to form a mandala.

Like the one on the wall of her Caprican apartment.

Like the one she fell through in her dream.

She'd gone through the mandala and saw what she had been, what she was, and what she could be.

She remembered the words she'd said to herself: _"Don't be afraid."_

"I'm not afraid," she whispered.

And again, with more conviction: "I'm not afraid."

Somewhere in the distance she thought she heard Lee's voice calling out to her, "_Kara…"_

* * *

"Kara what are you doing?"

"_Pegasus. Showboat. Starbuck just went into a nosedive. She's losing altitude fast."_

"Stay with her. Try to talk her out of it."

"_Copy that."_

* * *

Showboat took a breath as she flexed her fingers over her controls. She said a silent prayer of thanks that there were three planes on this CAP, because what she was about to do would be near suicide if she attempted it alone.

She keyed her wireless, "Catbird. Did you hear that?"

"_Yeah."_

"Keep an eye on your altimeter and call out every thousand feet."

"_Got it."_

"Let's do this. Follow my lead."

_"I'm right behind you."_

The two Vipers rolled onto their backs and dropped into the gas giant's upper atmosphere, following their leader as she kept on hurtling downwards.

"Starbuck," Showboat called out over the wireless.

"Starbuck. Can you hear me? You're going to have to pull up. You hear me? Pull up."

"_I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid."_

* * *

"_Pegasus. Showboat. No change. Starbuck's going to hit the hard deck soon. We can't follow her much longer."_

"Kara," Lee said, practically pleading over the wireless. With each passing second, his wife was getting closer and closer to hitting the altitude where atmospheric pressure would crush her Viper's hull. "Can you hear me?"

"_Pegasus. Showboat. Starbuck will hit the hard deck in less than a minute."_

Lee looked over at Hoshi. "Tell them to get out of there."

Hoshi nodded and spoke into his own headset. "Showboat. Pegasus. Break off. I say again. Break off."

"Kara. Listen to me…"

"Thirty seconds, Commander," someone said.

"Dammit, Starbuck!" Lee roared into the mouthpiece. "You even scratch the paint on that Viper and I'll ground you for the rest of your life! Got it?!?!"

* * *

"_Dammit, Starbuck! You even scratch the paint on that Viper and I'll ground you for the rest of your life! Got it?!?!"_

The sound of Lee's voice roaring through the wireless snapped Kara back to reality.

There was no Raider-no mandala.

Just the increasingly turbulent atmosphere of a gas giant planet and the shrill beeping of alarms telling her about the imminent danger she and her Viper were in.

Her Viper was shaking violently, rattling her teeth as she fought to regain control of the plane. And for a split second, she leveled out, and used the opportunity to point her nose upwards and hit the throttle.

* * *

"_Pegasus. Showboat. Starbuck just went ballistic. She's gaining altitude."_

Lee let out a shaky breath. Now Kara needed to climb back out into open space.

* * *

Kara climbed higher and higher. She needed to gain as much altitude as possible in order to escape the pull of the planet's gravity well. The throttle was shoved forward as far as it would go and the engines were beginning to protest at being at full burn for so long.

The g-forces increased. With the weight on her chest seeming to get exponentially heavier with each passing second, making it hard to breath, and in her already exhausted state, Kara couldn't keep her muscles clenched hard enough to keep the blood in her head.

Her vision began to tunnel. She could see less and less until it was as if she was looking at her instruments through pinholes.

"Help me…"

Then blackness.

* * *

"_Krypter. Krypter. Krypter. This is Showboat, Showboat, Showboat declaring an emergency."_

Lee fell forward when he heard those words. His legs were like jelly and he could barely hold himself up with violently trembling arms braced against the lighted chart table.

"_Starbuck is in an uncontrolled y-axis spin and z-axis flip. She appears to be unconscious. Send out the SAR bird."_

The XO was quickly by Lee's side and helped him stand back up; bracing him until his legs were steady again.

He still held the rail wrapped around the chart table in a death grip, though.

"_Pegasus. Athena. I'm in the air and can provide assistance."_

All of CIC could see that their Commander was just holding it together, so the XO took charge. "Hoshi, that's a negative on Athena's assist. She's on the other side of the fleet. It'll be faster if we send out our own."

"Yes sir."

"Launch SAR Raptor."

"SAR bird is away."

* * *

Lee was barely cognizant of anything that occurred around him. The wireless chatter between Hoshi and the SAR Raptor pilot was all he could hear. And even that sounded distant and barely audible above the sound of blood rushing through his ears.

"_Pegasus. Ghostrider. Rescueman is out the hatch."_

'Please, dear gods, please,' he prayed silently for the first time since he was a child.

"_Cutting her out of her straps now."_

'Don't take Kara away from me.'

"_Alright. I've got her. Reel us in."_

'We've been through so much to get to where we are today.'

"_Pegasus. Ghostrider. Rescueman and Starbuck are in the Raptor. We are RTB."_

'She's everything to me.'

"_Pegasus. Ghostrider. Starbuck's breathing is shallow, pulse is rapid, and she is barely responsive to external stimuli. Requesting a medical team to be standing by for when we touch down."_

'I don't know what I'll do without her.'

"Skids down. Maglock secure. Raptor 772 is on the deck," Hoshi announced. "Coming down into the hangar bay now."

The revolving entrance to CIC barely had time to open as Lee dashed out without a second look.

* * *

**Woohoo! 50 chapters, baby!**

**What do you think will happen in the next installment?**

**What do you want to happen?**


	51. Chapter 51

**Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. You guys truly rock.**

* * *

The corpsmen were unloading Kara from the SAR Raptor by the time Lee practically jumped from the upper catwalk and onto the hangar deck. The crew had enough sense to part and create a wide path when they saw him coming, lest they be knocked out of the way.

Kara was strapped down onto a gurney and she had a mask placed over her nose and mouth, which was connected to an oxygen tank between her legs. Her head was lolling from side to side somewhat, although Lee couldn't tell if it was because she was regaining consciousness or because of the gurney's movement.

"Kara…" Lee gasped as he finally reached his wife's side.

He leaned over her and his hands immediately went to her face in an attempt to get her to wake up and look at him.

"Come on. Open your eyes."

"Commander." A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. "We've got to get moving."

A part of Lee wanted to protest, but he knew that sickbay was what Kara needed right now. He straightened so that the corpsmen could take the gurney.

"Move!" someone barked and the gurney was rushed towards sickbay.

"Hammerhead!" Lee called back as he ran out the hangar bay. "Get a Raptor out there and tow in her plane. I want to know what exactly went wrong."

Lee stayed by their side all the way to sickbay, where the doctor and his staff quickly took over.

"What happened?"

"She began seeing things while out on CAP and tried to fly into a gas giant," Lee answered.

The doctor began taking notes onto a chart. "Anything else?"

"She was in an uncontrolled, high g flip when the rescue bird got to her."

"Do you know for how long?"

Lee shook his head.

"Get her into that bed over there and plug that hose into a wall unit. Kelly, monitors. North, pull out the Major's medical records. And Cullen, close this curtain."

"Yes, Doctor," the corpsmen chorused as the set about their assigned tasks.

Lee tried to follow Kara's gurney as it was being wheeled across sickbay, but the diminutive Cullen stopped him with an extended arm.

"Sorry, Commander," she said. "But you're going to have to let us do our jobs."

Lee stopped in his tracks but made no indication that he was going to step back. Cullen gave him one last look, as if she was making sure that he wouldn't follow before turning her attention to the task at hand.

The action behind the curtain degenerated into jumble of medical jargon. Lee could hear numbers being called out but he had no idea if any of them were good or bad.

Kara suddenly began to cough, and even that was confusing. Something was happening and Lee wasn't even sure if it was a positive or negative development.

"Get her mask off," he could hear the doctor saying. "Help me sit her up."

The coughing eventually stopped and was replaced by the sounds of the medical professionals behind the curtain softly conferring amongst themselves.

Lee wanted to rip open that curtain so badly, but his rational side won out, insisting that the last thing Kara needed was him barging in and preventing the medical staff from doing their jobs.

The curtain opened and closed, and out stepped the doctor. He gave Lee a small smile and said, "Your wife's going to be just fine, Commander. From the looks of things, she was suffering from asphyxia. The lack of oxygen must have caused her hallucinations. Do you have any idea how her air supply could have been compromised?"

Lee shook his head. There could be any number of reasons.

"Well, she's fine now, besides the usual bruising from high-g maneuvers. She was a little dehydrated so we have her hooked up to an IV. We'll do a blood test just to make sure nothing else is wrong with her, and we'll keep her overnight for observation, and I'm revoking her flight status pending a physical, but other than that, she can be up and about tomorrow morning."

Lee let out a breath.

"Can I see her?"

The doctor couldn't help but smile at how his CO was a ball of nervous energy practically bouncing on his toes.

"Of course."

* * *

Kara lay in bed, having been changed into a hospital gown. She had an oxygen mask on her face and an IV in her wrist. The doctor was right. With the exception of some bruising, she was no worse for wear. She turned her head when she noticed the curtain around her bed be drawn back to reveal Lee.

He stood there, stock still, staring at her. One hand grasped the curtain in a death grip.

It wasn't until he saw the corners of her eyes crinkle into a smile that he launched himself across the short distance to her side.

Lee's trembling hands lightly traveled over Kara's face. He needed to make sure she was really alright, and Kara, having been in Lee's position one too many times, stayed still, maintaining eye contact while letting him do his own examination.

Finally, Lee's hands cupped Kara's face as he stared at her with wide, glistening eyes.

"Don't scare me like that."

Kara spoke, her hoarse voice barely audible through the oxygen mask. "Payback's a bitch, huh?"

He let out a short laugh and pressed a long kiss against her forehead.

* * *

On the hangar deck, Kara's Viper-sans canopy-was being towed into a maintenance berth

"Bring her back some more-Okay…Perfect."

The plane's usual maintenance crew swarmed around and, under Kaplan's supervision, immediately set about taking it apart, piece by piece to find out what happened out there.

Kaplan was particularly anxious about finding out what went wrong because she was this plane's crew chief. It was her personal responsibility to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Alright, let's see what's wrong with this baby," the Petty Officer said as a ladder was placed by the side of the plane. A young crewman named Simmons clambered up into the cockpit as Kaplan kept talking.

"The Doc said that there could be something wrong with the air supply."

"Someone frak up at the filling station?" someone asked from where he was examining an RCS thruster propellant tank.

"No. And all the bottles we've been taking out of the other planes are clean," Kaplan replied. She looked up at Simmons. "Check the seat."

Kaplan heard, more than saw, Simmons begin to fiddle around.

"Hoses look clear," the young man called out.

"Check the bottle."

"Got it."

"Whoa."

"What?"

Simmons popped his head up, holding an oxygen bottle in his gloved hand.

"Looks like somebody went overboard with the graphite. It's all over the threads, the nozzle, and the inside of the intake valve."

The deck crew sometimes used a graphite lubricant on the threads of the O2 bottles when they got stuck, but it was always used sparingly because of the danger of asphyxiation in case the pilots inhaled any of it. And from the looks of it that was exactly what happened.

Kaplan reached up for the bottle to take a look herself. She ran a thumb along the threads and it immediately came back dirty. The bottle was completely covered with graphite.

"Geez…" she breathed. "Alright. Who's the idiot that installed this bottle?"

Just then, she noticed a dirty, bearded figure loitering behind a large tool cart.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here."

* * *

Kara had insisted that she was fine and that he had a job to do, so with a kiss and the promise that he'd come back as soon as his shift ended, Lee returned to CIC, feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was still anxious to see his wife, though, even if the worry was gone.

The crew picked up on their leader's ease as well, and CIC slid back into its normal routine as Lee placed a call to Galactica to inform his father that Kara was alright and to see how the search for the beacons was going.

Lee was talking with Hammerhead over the phone, listening to the DCAG's newly-revised pilot rotation when Hoshi suddenly called out urgently: "Commander, we have a Code Blue on the hangar deck."

And just like that, the cold, clenching feeling in the pit of his stomach was back.

"Go to Condition One. Get a squad of marines down there."

"_Code Blue. Code Blue. Set Condition One throughout the ship. Marines to the hangar deck."_

"I'm getting reports of injuries. Some of them serious."

At Lee's nod, the XO grabbed his own handset and announced: _"Medical team to the hangar deck. Medical team to the hangar deck. Sickbay, stand by to receive casualties."_

Lee took the handset from the XO and told Hoshi, "Put me through."

"_H-Hangar deck," _someone answered.

"This is the Commander. Who am I talking to?"

"_Specialist Parker, sir."_

"Sitrep."

"_It's just messed up down here, sir…Just…Fraking hell…"_

"Who's been hurt? Can you give me their names?"

The specialist on the other end of the line began to hyperventilate. _"Oh gods…it was just fraked up…he just threw…threw…"_

"Parker. You're going to have to take a breath and calm down."

Lee suddenly heard fumbling over the heavy breathing.

"_Somebody find him a paper bag-Sergeant Woodward here, sir."_

"Talk to me."

"_Well we've got somebody down here. Looks and smells like one of the refugees from the cargo bay, but he threw someone at least fifteen feet into the nose of a Viper. One of the deck crew got the guy in the head with a wrench. He's out cold, but I've got a syringe full of sedative from one of the corpsmen just in case."_

"Injuries?"

"_Three deckhands. Two of them have broken bones but are walking to sickbay by themselves. The corpsmen are working on the one who was thrown into the Viper now. It looks real bad."_

"And the prisoner?"

"_We've got him shackled and covered right now. What are your orders, sir?"_

"Take him to the old Cylon holding cell. Keep him secure. I'm on my way there now."

"_Yes sir."_

Lee hung up.

"XO, you have the conn."

* * *

Lee watched as two marines unceremoniously dumped an unconscious figure into the cell that once housed the brutalized Model Six. The new occupant was dressed in rags, had long, matted hair, and a dirty beard that made it hard to tell if he looked like any of the Cylon models they'd previously encountered. The marines exited the cell quickly, noses wrinkled in disgust.

It was obvious that whoever it was they had in custody hadn't seen the inside of a shower for a long time. The crew had given the marines a wide berth as they dragged their cargo through the corridors, and in the confines of the brig, one of the marines had promptly vomited at the stench.

Everyone breathed a sigh of release as the ballistic glass door slid shut, sealing in their prisoner and his smell.

Lee turned to Sergeant Woodward and said, "Get a bucket of water and give him a shave and a haircut so we can get a positive ID."

The marine nodded, "Yes sir."

"And make it as cold as possible in there. It'll help with the smell."

"Sir."

"Carry on."

Lee returned Woodward's crisp salute and walked out of the brig. He needed to get to sickbay to see how the injured were.

* * *

Sickbay was subdued when Lee arrived. He saw two corpsmen walking out of the operating theater carrying buckets and bloodstained mops while the doctor sat heavily in a chair, signing papers with angry strokes of his pen.

"Doctor."

"Commander," the doctor stood, his posture fully conveying the fact that he was upset.

"How are the injured?"

"Specialists Coates and Sturgis both have broken arms and Sturgis has a couple of bruised ribs as well. They'll be on limited duty until their casts come off."

"I heard there was a third," Lee said, hoping that the news was better than the sight of the bloodstained mops implied.

"Petty Officer Rachel Kaplan," the doctor pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a breath. "She died just as we were opening her up."

Lee stayed silent and listened.

"One of her ribs shifted as we moved her onto the table. It pierced her heart. Uhm…North's gone to fetch a body bag and her dress uniform so that we can move her to cold storage."

"As you were."

"Sir."

The doctor gathered up his papers and walked over to the small alcove he used as his office, leaving Lee alone in sickbay.

Instead of leaving though, he turned and walked to a corner where a bed was hidden away by a curtain. He just needed to know that at least one thing went right during this shitty day.

Kara was sitting up as the upper portion of her bed had been cranked up. Her oxygen mask was replaced with a nasal canula, and the IV bag filled with saline solution was gone, although the catheter remained in her wrist.

"I heard the Code Blue. What happened?"

"We think we found a Cylon on the hangar deck."

"You think?" Kara asked somewhat incredulously.

Lee shrugged. "He had a pretty thick beard, so we can't tell just by looking at him."

Kara was silent for a moment before haltingly asking, "Do you think it has anything to do with what happened to me?"

Lee shook his head. "I don't know."

They fell into silence. Their hands slowly crept towards each other until their fingers were just touching.

Kara finally spoke. "They brought a bunch of people in. Are they alright?"

"Couple of broken ribs, and two broken arms."

"That's it?"

"And…Kaplan. She's dead. They're waiting to move her to cold storage, and we're going to have to make funeral arrangements."

"Gods…"

Kaplan had been Kara's crew chief, personally making sure that everything on that Viper was in working order before Kara stepped onto the ladder. Kara had trusted the Petty Officer with her life, and now she was dead.

"Yeah."

Kara's hand suddenly slapped the latch that kept her bed's side rails up and swung her legs over the side.

"Get me my flight suit," she said indicating towards where it was hung behind Lee with one hand while taking off her nasal canula with the other.

"What?"

"Get me my flight suit," she repeated, standing up.

Lee stood up to block Kara's way. "You're not flying."

"I'm not going to fly. I just…I need to do something."

"Kara."

"Look! I'm fine," Kara gestured towards herself. "If it'll make you happy I'll come right back here after I'm done. It'll take ten minutes at the most. Now will you just give me my fraking flight suit so the whole crew doesn't have to see me in this thing?" Her tone made it clear that she was perfectly willing to shove her husband out of the way to get to her goal.

There was no arguing with her, so Lee reached back to get Kara her flight suit.

Kara wordlessly snatched the length of fabric out of Lee's hands and quickly got dressed. She stalked out of sickbay without a word and all Lee could do was follow her through Pegasus' corridors into enlisted country.

"Offic-Commander on deck!" a crewman announced when he saw them enter.

All noise and activity stopped as everyone snapped to attention, but Lee quickly said, "As you were," with barely a second glance at any of the crew. His attention was solely on the figure of his wife walking at a determined pace in front of him.

They turned several corners, a path being formed by the enlisted men and women moving to the side to let the officers through.

The mood in senior enlisted quarters was subdued when Kara burst in. It was rare for anyone who wasn't a pilot to be killed in the line of duty, so unlike the blasé attitude that permeated the pilots' duty lockers, everyone here was feeling the news of Kaplan's death.

"Where's Kaplan's rack?" Kara asked abruptly.

Someone numbly pointed towards one, and Kara immediately made her way there. The rack was still neatly made with everything the way its former occupant had left it that morning.

No one had wanted to do anything just yet.

Kara rummaged through the shelves, unaware of the barely contained indignation of Kaplan's friends behind her. Officer or not, who was she to go through the belongings of their friend, who hadn't been dead for more than a couple of hours.

Lee sidled up behind Kara and asked in a low voice, "What are you looking for?"

She didn't answer, but stopped poking around when she pulled something out from where it had been tucked behind the rack's mattress.

It was a small photo album. The cheap kind that had been thrown in for free at photo development kiosks back on the colonies.

Kara flipped through it quickly before snapping it shut and taking it with her as she left as abruptly as she arrived, not saying a word when she bumped hard against Lee, sending him stumbling back.

Lee recovered and followed Kara out and back to sickbay, where she headed straight for the operating theater. Inside, Corpsmen North and Cullen had just moved a body bag onto a gurney and were in the process of wheeling it out when Kara and Lee came in.

"Give us a minute," Kara said softly, finally speaking.

The corpsmen nodded and, after securing the brakes on the gurney's wheels, walked out. "Sirs."

Kara waited until the corpsmen were gone before she slowly stepped forward, handing Lee the album she'd taken from Kaplan's rack so that she could unzip the body bag.

Lee took the opportunity to glimpse inside the album. Its spine had been worn to the point of almost falling apart and had been repaired with tape several times. The first photograph showed a younger Kaplan with a man whose haircut could only mean that he was a marine. They were both gleefully showing off the gold bands on their ring fingers. And the few other photos he saw before closing the album were much like the first.

Kaplan and her husband together.

Kara stepped back and held out her hand for the album. When Lee handed it over, a photograph fell out and fluttered to the deck.

Kara knelt down to pick it up and saw that it had at one point been crumpled and ripped into pieces before being carefully taped back together again. She turned it over to see what it was.

It was a sonogram.

Kara's eyes welled up with tears as she remembered the story Kaplan had told her those months ago about her own marriage and terminated pregnancy. She tucked the sonogram securely back into the album and tucked it beneath Kaplan's limp hands.

"I'm sorry," Kara whispered just loud enough for Lee to hear.

She zipped up the body bag and turned to walk out, leaning in when Lee wrapped an arm around her waist as he followed.

"She took the photo that's on your desk, you know," Kara said when they were back at her hospital bed. As she promised, she began to undress to get back in bed. "And she was the one who told me to fight for our marriage."

Lee stood silently and listened.

Kara sat down and was about to swing her legs up when her eyes widened for a second. It looked as if she was about to say something, but no sound came out of her open mouth.

Lee could only watch as the blood drained from Kara's face before it contorted in extreme pain. A strangled noise managed to make its way out of Kara's constricted throat as she pitched forward, unable to hold herself up.

"Kara!" Lee cried as he lunged to keep her from falling to the deck.

She was completely stiff in his arms. Every muscle was tensed to the point her body would begin to damage itself if nothing was done soon. Lee lifted her back into bed a gently as he could, yelling, "Help!"

"Hurts…" Kara said through clenched teeth.

"Hold on," Lee soothed.

Once again, the day morphed into a blur for Lee as he was ushered out and cut off from his wife by a mere curtain.

He had no idea how much time passed as he paced back and forth.

Back and forth.

Trying to make sense of the sounds coming out of the doctor's mouth.

Finally, the doctor came out with a grim expression on his face. Lee immediately noticed the deep red stains on his clothing. He looked into the doctor's eyes, praying for Kara to be alright.

"Your wife just had a miscarriage. Her blood work from earlier had just come back…and…she must have been around eight weeks along."

Lee felt as if he'd been punched in the gut.

Kara was-had been-pregnant?

Eight weeks…

That was how long ago they'd begun mending their marriage in the confines of the CAG's office.

"Now there are many possible factors that could have brought this about," the doctor continued. "But quite frankly…these things just happen sometimes."

Lee swallowed before asking in a hoarse voice, "Is she-?"

"Physically, she's fine. I don't see any problems that would prevent you two from conceiving again, but…"

"What?"

The doctor shook his head. "She's refusing to let us clean her up, change her into a new gown, or change the sheets on her bed. She won't let go of them."

Lee walked past the doctor without another word to where Kara was. The doctor drew the curtain behind the Commander before heading to his office.

Kara was curled up in a fetal position, her back towards Lee when he approached. The sheets had been ripped off and it looked as if she had them gathered against her chest. As Lee walked around the foot of the bed, he saw that there was blood on her thighs, her gown, on the balled up sheets, and her hands.

Kara didn't move when Lee came into her line of sight. The only indication that she noticed his arrival was the way her tear-filled eyes slowly traveled up to his face.

He hesitantly tried to place a hand on Kara's shoulder, but recoiled when she visibly shrank back to avoid his touch. He pulled out a chair, sat by her bedside, and slowly reached for her hand. This time, Kara didn't pull back, but simply trembled at Lee's touch.

"I didn't know," she finally whispered in a squeaky voice as tears streamed down her face.

This spurred Lee to move. He immediately got into bed with Kara and gathered her up into his arms. She tried to resist at first, pushing away, but he held firm until she collapsed against him sobbing into his shoulder, the bloody sheets pressed between their bodies.

All the while, Kara kept repeating: "I didn't know."

* * *

**The graphite in the oxygen tank comes from an episode of JAG. It was such an unusual way of killing somebody that it's stuck with me.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Enjoy. **

* * *

It was a long time before Kara's sobs subsided.

Lee held her until her breathing grew steady. She'd fallen asleep, but her beautiful face was marred by a furrowed brow and tightly drawn lips. He could see her eyes moving rapidly beneath their lids as she dreamt, and all he could do was hold onto the futile hope that her dreams weren't nightmares.

Lee gently separated himself from Kara and eased himself off of her hospital bed. He slipped out from the curtained area and into the rest of sickbay. He headed towards where the doctor was completing paperwork in his cramped office.

"I need to use your office," Lee said softly. His tone left no room for negotiation.

The doctor nodded and after gathering several folders, exited without a word.

Lee sat down in the recently vacated chair and took a moment to adjust to its feel before he reached for the phone.

"_CIC. Lieutenant Hoshi speaking."_

"This is the Commander. Give me a private channel to Galactica Actual."

"_Yes sir. Right away."_

Several seconds passed. Lee could hear several clicks as his call was put through.

"_Galactica Actual. Go ahead, Pegasus."_

"Are you alone?"

There was a slight pause as his father registered his brusqueness. "_Yes."_

"Kara-just had a miscarriage."

Silence.

"_Did you-?"_

"No."

"_I'm coming right over."_

"No. Don't," Lee ran his free hand over his face. "It's been hectic enough already for her…"

His voice trailed off when he noticed his hand when he pulled it away from his face.

"_Take care of her."_

"Yeah." He stared at his hand. "Yeah. I will."

There was a click at the other end indicating that his father had hung up. Lee let the receiver drop into his lap as he stared at his hand. There were dried red streaks along his palm and fingers from where he'd held Kara's hand earlier.

He stood and walked out of the doctor's office to a hand washing station. He was about to turn on the water but stopped to look at his palm again.

He looked down at his uniform and the red that was just visible against the blue fabric from where the balled up sheets had been pressed between them and a dark patch at the shoulder where Kara's face lay as she cried.

Behind him Kelly had just come out of the curtained off area where Kara was sleeping, carrying the lengths of fabric Kara had refused to relinquish earlier. The corpsman was presumably going to send them off to be cleaned.

"Wait," Lee suddenly said.

Kelly started in surprise. "Sir?"

Lee gestured with his hands. "Give those to me," he said, giving little thought to what he was doing.

Kelly looked down at the bundle in her hands and handed it over with a little hesitation.

Lee took it and stalked out of sickbay to the commander's stateroom, ignoring the odd looks some of the crew gave him. He didn't break his pace until he was in his quarters with the hatch dogged behind him.

He walked across the deck, dropping the sheets, the pillow case, Kara's gown, and the cloths the corpsmen used to clean Kara up along the way.

His hands flew to the top button of his uniform jacket while his toes roughly ripped his feet out of his boots. He left a trail of clothing in his wake until he stood in front of the mirror in the head wearing only his tanks, boxers, and socks.

Staring at himself.

Now what?

At a loss for what to do now, he finally washed his hand.

Slowly.

Watching the blood, water, and soap swirl around in the sink as it went down the drain to be recycled and used again.

* * *

Dressed in a fresh uniform, Lee stepped back out to head towards the old Cylon holding cell. The original marines standing guard were gone, having been relieved after none too gently washing their prisoner with buckets of water and long-handled brushes normally used by the snipes to scrubs grease off of the bulkheads.

"Commander on deck!" the Sergeant Major in command of Pegasus' marine contingent barked.

"At ease."

Lee walked over to the ballistic glass to see their prisoner chained to the deck. It looked as if the marines had simply used their combat knives to chop off the prisoner's hair and beard, and judging from the number of nicks on his face, used them to shave him as well. The man's rags were gone, have been sliced off as well, and were replaced with a generic shirt and pants.

But despite those indignities, the prisoner stared back at Lee with defiant-even wild-eyes and his lips twisted into a disgusting leer.

Lee knew who it was even before the Sergeant Major came up beside him with a folder containing pictures.

"We have a positive ID. He's a match for the Cylon known as Leoben Conoy."

Lee took the proffered folder and tucked it under his armpit without looking at its contents. He'd read the files on the Cylons they knew about over and over again to know them by heart. Talking to this model would be an exercise in futility. But they couldn't risk airlocking him because of they didn't know what sort of information he could have gathered while aboard Pegasus.

"Round up the refugees and lock down the cargo bay," Lee said. "No one goes in or comes out until I find out how the frak that thing got onto my ship. Clear?"

"Yes sir!"

Lee turned on his heel to exit the brig, but paused when the Sergeant Major brought up a valid point.

"What if they need to use the head, sir?"

"Give them a bucket."

* * *

Caprica was sitting on her bed, reading a book, when Lee walked into the newer, purpose-built Cylon holding cell. She looked up from her reading when she noticed movement on the other side of the glass out of the corner of her eye.

The sliding glass door opened and in walked Lee, clutching a folder in his hands. Caprica assumed that he was there to interrogate her again, so she set her book down and waited until Lee pulled the chair she'd been given into position in front of her.

"Good evening, Commander," Caprica said as Lee sat down.

Lee didn't speak. He just stared at her and they sat in awkward silence.

"I heard that your wife is in sickbay after some kind of problem out on patrol," Caprica put forward hesitantly.

Lee's head jerked in surprise. "How did you know that?"

Caprica shrugged. "Today was my day to shower," she said matter-of-factly as she gestured towards her protective detail on the other side of the glass. "They talk when they think I'm not listening."

"Don't worry," she said laughingly at the look he gave her. "It's just gossip about what's happening on the ship."

Lee spared a glance at the marine guards. There was a potential security breach that needed to be nipped in the bud. But that wasn't the issue at hand.

Caprica beat him to the punch though.

"So…what would you like to know today? It's been a while since we've talked."

Lee opened the folder he'd brought with her and pulled out a photo. It was of the corpse of the Leoben his father had bludgeoned to death at Ragnar Anchorage.

"What can you tell me about this model?"

He was surprised to see Caprica shudder at the sight.

"They are among the most fervent believers in our religion. And if one of them is aboard this ship, it is best if you keep your wife away from him."

Immediately alarmed, Lee leaned forward, his shoulders hunched and his muscles tensed like a cat ready to pounce. "Why?" he asked in a low tone.

"There are those among us who believe that Kara Thrace has a destiny. That she is a harbinger of some sort. He is the most fervent of them."

Caprica was truthful. She always told the truth to Lee. He'd unconsciously shown her that humans were not the barbarians Cylons had been led to believe, and if she was honest with herself, she was finding herself attracted to the man. Or at least the archetype he represented.

"But more than that…" she continued. "He believes that her destiny lies with him. It's an obsession. Almost to the point of delusion."

Horror was beginning to creep into Lee's features as Caprica spoke.

"When we arrived at New Caprica, he tore apart the city to look for her. He terrorized the women so badly that we even stopped doing anything every time he resurrected."

Caprica shook her head at the memory. "I'd thought that he'd be the first model to be boxed as an entire series. Instead, it was the model you know as D'anna Biers that was completely abandoned. But you already know that."

Silence.

Caprica and Lee stared at each other before he eventually hesitantly said, "Would he…do anything to hurt Kara?"

Caprica sighed. "I don't know."

Silence again.

Caprica looked down at the deck as she waited for the inevitable question.

"Do you believe that Kara has a special destiny?"

She looked back up.

"I espouse the teachings of my religion because they're what I know. But I'm not sure what I believe anymore. I feel-"

"Lost?" Lee finished for her.

"Yes," Caprica nodded. "But it's refreshing as well."

"I have a lot of time to think in here. See?" she gestured towards the book at her side. "I'm reading an academic treatise on your religion. And it is fascinating to see religion from a detached point of view."

Caprica picked up the book and mindlessly flipped its pages as she spoke. "You have Zeus, the mighty philanderer, and Hera, the vindictive wife, along with the rest of your pantheon of supposedly holy beings worshipped by your people. But instead of using the gods as your ideals, you use heroes instead. Mortals who dare to challenge the gods themselves and triumph over adversity.

Perhaps that's why humans have such a gift for taking their fallibilities and rising above them to build a rich, teeming civilization that spread over twelve worlds and hundreds of colonies.

Meanwhile, we Cylons worship a single god who is supposed to be perfect in every way. We didn't create a society. We built a machine geared for war. We don't have families, or friends, or homes. We have networks, production facilities and resurrection hubs. There's no culture or beauty in what we've created."

Caprica smiled sadly as she voiced her newfound thoughts. Her existence truly had been bleak before she met the humans.

She looked at where Lee was looking pensively at a bulkhead.

"But do you really want to sit here?" she said, regaining the commander's attention. "When you have a Cylon that is singularly obsessed with your wife aboard your ship?"

* * *

It was early in the morning according to the ship's clocks when Lee left Caprica and got back to sickbay.

North, the corpsman on the night shift, was dozing in a chair when he heard the Commander's footsteps approaching.

The corpsman stood, but Lee barely acknowledged him as he walked to the distant corner of the room. North followed silently behind in case Lee had any questions.

And he did. Lee paused in front of the drawn curtain and softly asked, "Did she wake up while I was gone?"

North shook his head.

"She did start getting restless, so the Doctor gave her something to help her sleep before he went off shift."

The two men stood in silence.

"Would you like anything, Commander?" North asked hesitantly. "I'm allowed to dispense small doses of sleeping pills when necessary."

Lee shook his head and let out a long breath. "No, thank you."

North nodded. "Sir."

"Corpsman."

North walked back to his chair, leaving Lee alone in front of the curtain hiding Kara away from the rest of sickbay. Lee waited until the corpsman was back in his chair before slipping inside to where Kara lay sleeping.

She looked so peaceful. If it wasn't for the IV silently dripping into her, it was almost as if he'd walked in on her sleeping in their bed, too tired to wait up for him. He would undress as quietly as he could before slipping in next to her and reveling in the fact that she would automatically turn and snuggle up against him.

But they weren't in their quarters now.

They were in sickbay and she was asleep only with medical assistance.

And they'd lost a child neither of them had been aware of.

Lee sat down in the chair he'd used earlier. He took Kara's hand in his own and rubbed his thumb along the backs of her fingers, feeling the details of her ring.

Why did this sort of thing always happen to them?

Why was it that the universe always had to step in and interfere with their happiness?

With those thoughts and the memory of his recent conversation with Caprica running through his head, Lee finally broke down and let his tears fall.

* * *

**Hope you liked it.**

**And thank you to all those who reviewed last time. They were just awesome.**


	53. Chapter 53

Kara slowly blinked awake.

The first thing her blurry eyes were able to focus on was Lee, massaging a crick in his neck.

Had he spent the entire night sitting in that chair?

Lee noticed that Kara was awake.

"Hey…How are you feeling?" he asked carefully.

Kara stayed silent for a long time. She just looked at Lee in silence. Finally, she tried to swallow, but she realized that her mouth and throat were dry. It was like trying to swallow a cotton ball.

Lee noticed this and grabbed a pitcher to pour some water into a plastic cup. He brought it up to Kara's lips so that she could take a small sip. Her mouth was so dry that it seemed as if her tongue absorbed most of the water before she got the chance to swallow. With Lee's help, Kara drank half a cup before she leaned back, indicating that she didn't want anymore.

Lee put the cup down on the bedside table and turned to look back at Kara.

"How are you feeling?" he asked again.

Kara's reply was a quiet, "Fine."

Her voice sounded raspy.

Hollow.

"Can I get out of here?"

"Yeah." Lee stood up. Kara could tell he was using all his willpower not to let his discomfort show. "Let me get you some clothes and…yeah."

* * *

They walked slowly from sickbay back to their quarters. The corridors were nearly empty for once so they only passed a few people on their way. Kara was tense the entire time, not pulling away from Lee when he put an arm around her waist, but not leaning in like she usually did, either.

Once inside their quarters, Kara made for the couch and sat down. She curled up, bringing her knees to her chest in an effort to make herself as small as possible. Her eyes focused on a nick on the glass of their coffee table and didn't move.

Any and all thoughts that would have run through her mind were lost in a hazy fog. She went through the rest of the day in a daze, mindlessly swallowing the meals Lee brought her and answering the occasional query with short answers. Mostly she sat on the couch staring at that nick on the glass.

Not even a visit from the Admiral that evening managed to get a much of a reaction out of her. She just listened to Adama talk and noticed the soft murmurs between her husband and father-in-law as the elder Adama prepared to leave.

That night, Lee ushered Kara to bed, standing by awkwardly as she undressed and slipped beneath the blanket. Kara curled up on the mattress and Lee sat down at the edge of the rack to pull the blanket up securely over her. Unsure of what to do, Lee moved to stand, but Kara's hand shot out and caught his wrist in an iron grip. Seeing the look in her eyes, he slipped into bed as well and held her through the night, though neither slept much as she stared into the darkness holding onto fistfuls of his tanks.

The next day was more of the same. Lee wanted to stay by Kara's side, but his duties pulled him away. In his worry for his wife's state of mind, Lee cleared the room of anything sharp, potentially poisonous, and breakable before leaving with the promise to be back with lunch.

The only response he got was a noncommittal noise as she continued to stare at the coffee table.

Lunch was another quiet affair. But Kara ate her entire meal with little urging from Lee.

Kara got up after Lee left again that afternoon and wandered around their quarters. She noticed a folder that had been left on their rack and, without thinking, picked it up to take a look at what was inside.

Her insides froze instantly.

It was a copy of the dossier she used nearly four years ago to interrogate Leoben Conoy.

And suddenly the haze was gone.

Replaced with a singular focus.

Leoben.

Her dream.

The graphite in her oxygen.

Her…

Her….

_Dammit._

Her…

_Frak._

She blinked away the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes.

It had to be more than a coincidence.

The folder was tossed back onto the rack. She rushed over to her locker and pulled out a uniform.

She dressed quickly, not caring in her rush about making sure everything fit properly. She shoved her feet into her boots and marched out into the corridor towards the brig.

If the marines guarding Leoben were surprised at Kara's appearance they didn't show it.

She came in with her jacket slightly twisted off-center on her torso and partly untucked from her trousers. Although her pants leg hid the untied bootlaces, it was obvious her boots were flapping around on her feet.

"I'm here to interrogate the prisoner," Kara said. The most she'd said since she left sickbay.

The corporal in command of the four man squad glanced at the folder she had the foresight to bring with her and nodded.

"Go right on in, sir."

The door slid open, and Kara stepped in.

Inside, Leoben sat shackled to a chair bolted to the deck. The heavy chains and cuffs made clinking noises as he shifted to look at his visitor.

Kara shivered.

Those eyes.

She remembered those eyes.

Just like in her dream. Leering. Predatory.

That twisted smile on his face as he appraised her.

Then he said, in a sickly sweet voice, "Hello, Kara."

* * *

In the cargo bay where Pegasus' refugees were staying, Lee was walking through the rows of cots talking to his JAG officer. He'd put her in charge of the investigation.

The refugees were huddled in groups around the cargo bay, scared to move on account of the heavily armed marines guarding the one exit. Although Lee allowed them to use the head instead of the bucket he angrily growled about before, trips were only made hourly under armed guard.

"We're about halfway through with the interviews, sir," The JAG officer, Captain Mitchell said. "They're saying that they usually gave the Cylon a wide berth on account of the smell, so no one can tell us much. A couple of them remember him loading onto one of the Raptors during the evacuation of New Caprica. And because so many people lost their documents, we just let anyone aboard."

Lee stayed silent, looking around the cargo bay with a pensive look on his face.

Mitchell leaned to keep herself in his line of sight. "Should we keep working, sir?"

"Yeah…" Lee breathed. As important as this was, he didn't want to be here.

"Uhm…There's one other thing, Commander," Mitchell said.

Lee turned to face the lawyer.

"We found a few of the younger men and women 'trading favors' with the crew. They set up shop in a larger supply locker in frame thirty eight."

Lee blinked. "Dear lords…" He shouldn't have been surprised.

They offered jobs to the refugees to help keep them occupied. While several of the civilians entered into a modified training program to enlist as deckhands, technicians, and corpsmen, most of them did menial work-hard labor for little reward-to free up the crew for tasks that required their skill sets.

Now he had an illegal brothel on his ship.

Before he could think of how to handle the situation, an announcement came over the intercom. The urgency in Hoshi's voice was unmistakeable.

"_Commander Adama to Cylon Holding Cell A. Commander Adama to Cylon Holding Cell A. Pass the word to Commander Adama: You are needed in Cylon Holding Cell A _urgently."

* * *

When Lee ran into the holding cell, three marines were struggling to pull a wildly thrashing Kara out and having a hard time of it. A fourth was on the deck, just regaining consciousness. His nose was bloody and a sizeable lump was forming on his forehead.

Lee's first concern was Kara.

The marines had her halfway out of the cell as she continued to struggle and scream.

"You bastard!"

She kicked against the ballistic glass.

"Let me go! Godsdammit! Let me GO!"

Lee took Kara from the marines when they were out of the cell so that they could go back and pull out their dazed comrade. She fought against his grip as he tried to get her to look at him.

"Kara! KARA!"

Their eyes met. She grabbed onto his jacket with a wild look in her eyes."

"He killed them, Lee. The godsdamned bastard killed them."

Lee frowned in confusion.

"Who? Who did he kill?"

Kara shook her head frantically from side to side, her hair-already falling out of its ponytail-came loose and covered her face. But Lee could still see that look boring into him from behind the veil of blonde hair.

"She said she was going to interrogate the prisoner," one of the marines said. "They talked for a few minutes but then he said something and she freaked. Started punching and clawing at him."

Lee whipped his head around to see Leoben, bleeding from scratches on his face, and…laughing.

The Cylon spoke. Loudly enough to be heard from beyond the still-open cell door.

"You may have lost one child, but you have another. Our child."

Time stopped.

Kara slowly looked up from Lee's chest and over his shoulder into the cell.

What the hell was he talking about?

Leoben looked straight at her.

"You've met her, haven't you, Kara? Kacey?"

A growl built up at the back of her throat and grew into a scream. Kara launched herself from the bulkhead, knocking Lee down in her madness to get to the Cylon. She was nearly to the open entrance when she was roughly jerked back and enveloped into a crushing embrace.

Lee held Kara tight. Her legs lost their strength and they slowly sank to the deck.

He stroked her hair as her angry yells turned into sobs of desperation.

"What do they want with me? Oh gods…what do they want with me…?"

Lee's soothing voice filled her ear.

"Don't listen to him, Kara. Don't listen to him," he said as he motioned with his head for the marines to get the door closed. "You hear me? It'll be alright. Shhh…"

Lee just wished that he believed his own words as he glared through the glass to where Leoben was still laughing.

* * *

**I needed hours of puppy videos on YouTube to balance out writing the past few chapters.**

**What did you guys think?**


	54. Chapter 54

Lee hoisted Kara up off the deck and walked out of the brig, pausing only to tell the marines to get their injured friend to sickbay. His steps were heavy during his excruciatingly slow walk back to their quarters. Kara was dead weight in his arms as she stared of into some unknown distance from behind her veil of blonde hair.

They were nearly quiet the entire time, the only noise being Kara occasionally whimpering as tears slid down her face, causing her hair to stick to her skin.

She was lost. Even more so than just a few minutes earlier.

It was all too much for her to handle.

She just wanted everything to go away.

She just wanted to be left alone.

Why couldn't the universe leave her in peace whenever she found herself in a good place?

What the hell did the Cylons want with her?

Kara felt herself shift.

Lee was opening the hatch to their quarters and doing his best not to jostle her in the process, but she didn't acknowledge the movement or the scenery. He stepped inside and used their combined body weight to close the heavy hatch.

He carried Kara across their stateroom, but unable to continue with the burden of today's revelations, he fell onto their couch with Kara still in his arms.

He just held her, fighting down his own emotions-needing to be strong-only to feel her stiff and curling tighter into herself, refusing to turn to him for comfort.

Why couldn't they just be happy?

He sat like that for hours. Hoping and praying that Kara would eventually relax and let him help her.

But she didn't.

He sat and waited. Even as his legs fell asleep from the weight of her on his lap he waited.

Eventually, Lee realized that there wouldn't be any change in Kara today he shifted her onto the couch so that he could stand up. Looking over he saw that she had her eyes closed and her breathing was evening out.

So he stood up, and carried her to bed, struggling to stay on his feet as the blood rushed back to his legs.

Lee tucked Kara beneath the blanket and thought about trying to get some sleep himself. But he still had too much energy and his mind was racing. He needed to clear his head, so he quietly walked out of the room and found himself walking back towards the brig.

It was times like this that made Lee realize just how alone he was. Already an outsider when he first arrived aboard Galactica, being thrust into various positions of authority with little preamble made him few friends. And the steps he had to take to fix the problems encouraged and exacerbated by his predecessors aboard Pegasus showed him more than his stint as Galactica's CAG how lonely it was to be in command.

All he had was Kara to turn to when he was down.

Because as much as it had been him helping her conquer her demons when they first started their friendship, Kara did just as much to support him when he was feeling weak as they grew closer.

They fed off of each other, drawing on each other's strength to get through the hardships they faced everyday.

And the piece of shit he was currently glaring at tried to take that away from him.

His index finger twitched against his thigh.

It would be so easy to put a bullet in the Cylon's head.

To see that hole form in the middle of his forehead would be so satisfying.

But death meant nothing to them.

Caprica told him that time and again.

That didn't matter though.

He was going to find a way to make Leoben pay.

As the Cylon looked back at him with near-maniacal eyes, Lee swore that he would make Leoben pay.

* * *

Kara had been quiet before confronting Leoben. But now she was practically a ghost.

When she wasn't lying in bed or sitting on the couch, she wandered around their stateroom with her hair hanging limp in front of her face and a defeated look in her eyes.

Lee kept hoping that she would snap out of it, or at least show him a sign that she heard him when he spoke to her. But none of that happened.

Days began to stretch into weeks with no change and Lee found that he had to spend more and more time away from their quarters. Kara wouldn't even look at the food he brought her if he was in the room with her. He would come back later to see Kara in curled up in a corner and the meal picked at with just enough gone to prevent complete starvation and rearranged on the plate to try and make it seem as if it hadn't been touched.

When he first tried to reassure Kara that it was alright for her to eat all the food-that he brought it for her-she shrunk away from him. Tried to burrow herself into the metal bulkhead to get away from his gentle touch. Unsure of how to get her to eat otherwise, Lee left her alone, and could only watch as she became thinner and thinner before his eyes.

"There's no change, Dad," Lee said as he spoke with his father over the wireless in his ready room. It had been several weeks since the incident with Leoben "She won't talk. She won't look at me. She won't even eat in front of me."

"_Have tried bringing in a priestess?"_

He had. And it had ended in disaster.

"She threw a fit and nearly took the priestess' head off with her book of scripture. It took me all night to calm her down."

"_Listen, Lee…I know that you're worried about Kara, but there are other things that we have to take care of. Like this girl, Kacey for instance."_

Lee shuddered. He'd been hoping to avoid this issue. "What about her?"

"_She's been fingered as a Cylon-or a hybrid at least. You know what we have to do."_

"But she's just a little girl."

"_And we have five unidentified Cylon models out there. She and her mother could be two of them."_

"Dad…"

"_If you're not going to do it, then I will. I've kept quiet about this for long enough."_

"No…don't. Please. I'll take care of it."

"_You make sure you do. And Lee…"_

"Yeah."

His father's tone suddenly changed. _"I know it's hard…"_

"No," Lee spat, his voice suddenly steely. "You don't."

And he hung up.

* * *

**It feels weird adding this to the end, but: Happy Holidays, everyone. **

**Be sure to check back in a few days.**


	55. Chapter 55

Lee walked through the corridors of the Space Wanderer, an interplanetary cruise ship-dressed in civilian clothing. It was so much different than walking through Pegasus. It was warm, for one thing, and brightly lit. And the carpeted deck muffled the sounds of his footsteps. He silently counted off the numbers on the cabin doors as he walked by. The path was familiar to him. He'd walked it a couple of times before, although his companion then was Kara, and they had been happy and laughing.

Today, Lee was silent and broody. The civvies were worn not because he wanted to get away from military life for a while, but merely because he didn't want to attract attention, and the woman walking by his side wasn't his wife.

Reaching the right door, he sighed and mentally prepared himself before knocking on the door. He raised his hand, but before rapping his knuckles against the wood, he turned to his companion and softly muttered, "Wait out here."

At her nod, Lee knocked and waited for the familiar noises to come from behind the door.

"Ask who it is first," said a muffled woman's voice.

But the door swung open without anyone asking who it was, revealing a brightly smiling little girl.

"Lee!" Kacey shrieked joyfully when she saw who it was. She threw her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

"Hey, Kacey," Lee said in reply, a lightness coming to his voice for the first time in what felt like ages.

"What did I tell you, Kacey? Always ask who it is before you open the door." Julia, Kacey's mother, scolded as she joined them at the threshold. "Hello, Commander. Come on in."

Lee gave a small smile and followed the two into their cabin, practically being jerked around by Kacey's insistent tugging. It was a modest two bedroom suite furnished like any generic hotel room with a private bath. Thoroughly decadent in their current situation, Lee had spent a lot of time haggling and cajoling with various ship commanders to ensure that the Brynns could live here by themselves.

He was led to the small sitting area and sat down on the couch with Kacey eagerly bouncing in her seat next to him. Julia took a seat in a chair nearby.

"Where's Kara?" Kacey asked innocently.

Lee's smile faltered as he remembered how Kara didn't get out of bed this morning. "She's sick so she couldn't make it," he said.

"Oh," Kacey nodded in her infinite wisdom. "Is she going to get well soon?"

"I hope so…," Lee said. He forced himself to turn brighter and asked, "How've you been?"

"I'm going to school!" the little girl said exuberantly.

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

Julia cut in, "It's been about a month now."

"Wow…" Lee turned his attention back to Kacey, who looked as if she was about to pop with all the stories she had to tell. "So have you learned a lot?"

"Yeah! I can read!"

Above the little girl's head, her mother smiled amusedly and waggled her hand to silently show that they were getting there. Lee smiled back before looking down and asking, "You can?"

Kacey nodded so hard that Lee thought that her head might possibly pop off.

"Well then…" He brought the small package he'd brought with him. "Then you'll love this."

Kacey looked at the plain wrapping paper expectantly. "For me?"

"Yeah."

The package was ripped out from Lee's grip and the only sound that could be heard in the cabin was that of paper being torn as Kacey eagerly exposed its contents.

"Wow!"

The package was a small number of storybooks Lee had found over the past few months that he hoped were a right match for Kacey. It wasn't as if he had a lot to choose from.

Julia peered over to see what had gotten her daughter so excited and smiled wider when she saw what it was.

"What do we say, Kacey?" Julia prodded.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

Kacey got on her knees on the couch and thrust one of the books near Lee's nose. "Will you read with me?"

As much as Lee wanted to, he wasn't here on a social visit. But he wanted to be as gentle as possible with Kacey. He'd come to love the girl and didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Uh…how about a bit later? Why don't you go into your room for a bit? I've got to talk to you mom about some stuff."

"What stuff?" came the curious response.

"Boring, grown up stuff."

"Oh…" Kacey said. "Okay."

Visibly deflated, Kacey nonetheless hopped off the couch and took her new books into her room and began to flip through the pages, slowly sounding out the words one at a time.

Julia glanced over at Lee, somewhat surprised. As close as the man was to her daughter, she'd only spoken to him a few times conversationally. Her eyes traveled over his face, taking in the tight corners of his mouth and the distant look in his eyes, and how he unconsciously rubbed his wedding ring. Something was troubling him. He was usually so at ease when around Kacey.

"It's not just a bug, is it?" Julia ventured

"Hmmm?" Lee looked over at her. "What?"

"Your wife. It's not just a bug."

He was silent for a beat before he shook his head. "No."

"Is everything alright?"

"We're...working through it…but, uh…" Lee clumsily changed the subject. "How are you doing? Keeping busy?"

Seeing that Lee was obviously not in the mood to talk about what was going on in his life, Julia decided to go with it.

"Yes," she began. "The prosecution for President Baltar's trial's set up in one of the conference rooms here. I'm helping them prepare for once the details for the trial itself are worked out."

Lee raised his eyebrows in interest. "Oh. How's that?"

"It's good. It's good," Julia smiled and nodded as she spoke. "It's nice to get to use the stuff I was learning in law school."

Lee's head cocked slightly to the side. "You're a lawyer?"

Julia shook her head in the negative. "I was on my way to become one. My husband and I found out we were pregnant the summer after my first year of law school. Kacey was born in the middle of my second. I took the rest of that year and the first half of the next off, but I never got the chance to go back."

Lee nodded and spoke quietly, "I see."

Julia shifted in her seat. "Why are you here, Commander? It can't possibly be to simply catch up over coffee. What's going on?"

"I'm here to ask about Kacey's father."

Julia rocked back. "My husband?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Just-tell me about him first, please. I'll explain what's going on afterward."

"Uh…well… He was a banker and worked at Tauran Intercolonial. We grew up together on the same street. We were best friends even when it was icky to be around kids from the other side. You know?"

At Lee's nod, Julia continued, her tone wistful, "We got into all sorts of trouble. Then one day he kissed me. Or I kissed him. We always argued about that. And just like that…we were together. Like something out of one of those books I read as a teen.

We got married right after we graduated from college. He went on to work for the bank and I went to law school. Then Kacey came along. Kacey and I were going to visit my sister on Canceron when the Cylons came." Julia's voice cracked but she held back her tears. She'd learn to live with the pain over the years. "He was supposed to fly out the next day to join us."

"Do you have a photo?"

"Yes."

"May I see it?"

Julia nodded and got up to get her purse. She'd lost nearly everything else she had but she'd held onto her purse for all this time. She pulled out her wallet to show Lee a photo of a smiling blond man who looked nothing like Leoben proudly holding up a much younger Kacey amongst the now worthless cash and credit cards.

"His eyes were like yours," Julia said, causing Lee to look up. "Blue and kind. Maybe that's why Kacey took to you so quickly. She's usually so cautious around strangers…gods…she barely remembers her own father."

They fell silent and could hear Kacey's voice continuing to slowly sound out the words in the books Lee had brought.

"What's going on? Why do you want to know all this?"

"There's someone claiming to be Kacey's father."

"It's not the man in the photo," he added before Julia could get her hopes up. "But I still have to get blood from you and Kacey."

Lee stood and walked to the door and opened it. "You can come in now," he said and let in the woman who'd been waiting outside.

"This is Corpsman Cullen. She'll be taking the blood samples."

Cullen walked over to where Julia was sitting and placed her bag on

"So why don't we do you first," Cullen said. She quickly and efficiently opened her bag and pulled out the necessary equipment. The blood sample was taken and Julia found herself pressing a piece of sterile cotton to the puncture mark before she could register the prick of the needle.

Cullen marked the vial and followed Lee to where Kacey was lying on her bed with a book in front of her.

"Hi, Kacey," Lee said, causing the girl to look up from her reading. "This is Corpsman Cullen. She's going to make sure that you're not feeling sick." He'd thought this up so that Kacey wouldn't raise suspicion if she spoke of this to other people. It had the added benefit of providing the girl with an actual physical exam.

"But I'm not feeling sick," Kacey insisted.

"You're not?"

Kacey confidently shook her head.

"Well, this is just to make sure."

At Kacey's strange look, Lee added not completely untruthfully, "Your mom just did the same thing."

Swayed, Kacey agreed. "Okay."

Lee walked out as Cullen went up to the bed. "Hi, Kacey. My name's Rita. Can you sit up for me?"

Out in the living area, Julia was talking to Lee in full worried mother mode.

"Why do you need to do this? Is this man insisting on a DNA test? Do you think he'd try to find us? Please…I don't think I can take something like that again. Not after what happened on New Caprica."

"Again?" Lee asked, surprised. "What happened on New Caprica?"

"It was two months after the Cylons came. We were at the market and Kacey wandered off when I was looking for kerosene. I found her a couple of streets over and there was a Cylon there. The creepy looking one that looked as if he never changed his clothes."

Lee knew that Julia could only be talking about Leoben.

"He wasn't doing anything. He was just looking at her, but I got scared and grabbed her and ran off. He kept on showing up wherever we were for weeks after. He'd just stare at Kacey like he was…" Julia shuddered, not wanting to finish that thought, even though it had been more than a year since the second exodus. "I even woke up some nights to see him by our tent. The resistance finally hid us away in the caves until you came back for us."

Something clicked in Julia's head as she spoke. "Oh gods. It's him isn't it? You think that Kacey's a-"

Lee immediately cut her off. "No. I don't. Don't say that. But I have to do this."

"But-"

"He's in our brig and I promise you, he will come no where near you or Kacey."

Lee placed a hand on Julia's shoulder. "I swear on my life," he insisted. "I won't let anything happen to you or Kacey."

Just then, Kacey ran out from her room and straight to her mother with Cullen following slowly behind.

"Mommy! She poked me with a needle!"

Julia scooped her daughter up. "She did? Did it hurt?"

Kacey shook her head. "Not too much."

"That's my girl," Julia said proudly, if somewhat sadly.

"Well…Cullen and I better get going."

"But we didn't read yet!" Kacey protested.

"Sorry…I'll come back with Kara next time and we'll read your books together. Okay?"

"Promise?"

"Yeah," Lee fondly ruffled Kacey's hair.

Goodbyes were said all around and Lee and Cullen exited the cabin to head back to their Raptor. Lee's head was churning with thoughts as to whether or not he could keep the promise that he just made to Kacey when Julia's voice calling him made him stop and turn.

"Commander."

"Yes."

Julia was standing halfway out into the hallway. "We weren't the only ones. Three other families joined us later. Their daughters and Kacey could have passed for cousins."

Lee nodded and waited until Julia was back in her cabin before turning back.

"Let's go," he muttered and stalked off, not bothering to see if Cullen was keeping up.

* * *

Lee entered the Cylon holding cell followed by two marines, both of whom were carrying-instead of firearms-objects that most people would have found oddly out of place in such a setting.

Leoben was still shackled to his chair and immediately focused on the officer dressed in blue, smiling as he saw the man cross his arms and glare at him. Unfazed, the Cylon opened his mouth to speak when Lee suddenly said, "Gag him."

The two marines who had come in with him immediately approached the shackled Cylon. One drew an extendable baton and whipped Leoben once across the face before stepping behind him to begin pressing his weapon hard against the Cylon's windpipe.

Leoben began to reflexively gag, trying in vain to take in air, but only succeeded in allowing the other marine to shove a sock into his open mouth. The fabric quickly soaked up the saliva in his mouth, making it hard to spit out. Not that it mattered, because the marine behind him then drove the baton up under his chin, simultaneously forcing the Cylon's head back and keeping his mouth clamped down on the sock so that the other could wrap duct tape tightly around his head.

Their deed done, the marines stepped away and exited the cell at Lee's nod.

With blood pouring into one eye, Leoben strained to remain focused on Lee. He didn't have to try very hard, because the man was in his face, with cold eyes that promised pain. Lots of pain.

"So you have a fixation on little girls, huh?"

Lee stood and walked around Leoben's back as he talked. "The Cylons tried to wipe us out because they thought we were a barbaric race not fit to survive and _you_ are fixated on little girls."

Lee grabbed a fistful of Leoben's hair and wrenched the Cylon's head back to force eye contact. Leoben's throat was exposed. Such a tempting target, but Lee had something else planned.

"Now you'll see just how barbaric humans can be."

He released Leoben's hair letting the Cylon's head loll around as he wiped his hand distastefully on his trousers. He stood and walked out without another word.

The last thing Leoben saw was Lee's back and the same two marines walking back in to put a black cloth over his head.

* * *

**I hope I got the timeline right for this.**

**I know some of you are just waiting for some pilot!love. All I can say is patience. It will be coming.**


	56. Chapter 56

**Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. On with the story.**

* * *

Lee was standing watch in CIC as the fleet continued their search for the beacons that would hopefully lead them somewhere safe. Contact with the Cylons was ongoing, although the engagements were brief. But his mind wasn't on any of that. When he wasn't needed in CIC or anywhere else aboard the ship, he was in his quarters trying to get Kara out of her trancelike state, or in his ready room trying to hide from it all.

He wordlessly signed and initialed various documents being handed to him by York, his yeoman, as his crew quietly went about their tasks. He had been on edge for a while and developed a tendency to snap at people for the slightest infractions.

"Commander," the XO's voice caused Lee to look up from a request form he was reviewing. "The medical officer is here to see you."

The doctor was standing by the revolving wall, dressed in his blue duty uniform instead of the white coat of his profession, holding a clipboard.

"Be right back," Lee said. The XO acknowledged him with a nod.

Lee walked across CIC and gestured for the doctor to follow him to a corner. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying undue attention towards them

The doctor handed him the clipboard. Most of the things written on the pages he was flipping through meant nothing to him except for "Positive" and "Negative".

"DNA test results came back, sir," the doctor was saying. "Julia and Kacey Brynn are mother and daughter."

Lee looked up, already guessing the meaning of the "Negative" on the page before him. "And the other thing?"

"Leoben Conoy is not Kacey's father."

Lee breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

The doctor just nodded. "Yes sir. I sent the samples on to Galactica on this morning's courier run. The results of those tests will take longer to come in."

"Thanks, Doctor," Lee said as he handed the clipboard back. His tone indicated that the conversation was over, but the doctor made no move to leave.

The two men stood there in slightly awkward silence.

"How is the Major doing, sir?"

"No change."

"Still not eating?"

Lee thought of the breakfast Kara had barely touched that morning and the lunch she pointedly refused to look at when he brought it into their quarters about an hour earlier.

"Just enough," he said quietly.

"If her weight keeps on dropping, you're going to have to bring her in, Commander, so that we can put her on a nutrient drip."

"I know," Lee said flatly.

"How about you, sir?"

"I'm fine," Lee lied.

He wasn't. He was so preoccupied with taking care of Kara and running Pegasus that he hardly slept or ate. The only meal he was eating was lunch, and that was only because York was bringing it to him in his ready room and would refuse to leave until the plate was bare, and the only times he slept were when he fell asleep at his desk or in a chair watching Kara sleep fitfully through the night.

"Sir. Forgive me for saying so, but how can you hope to take care of your wife when you're barely taking care of yourself?"

Knowing that this wasn't the time or place, the doctor stopped talking and stood to attention.

"If that is all, Commander," he said, asking to be dismissed.

Lee nodded. "Doctor."

The revolving wall hissed open and shut. Lee stood where he was for a minute before deciding to go back to Kara and tell her the news. Maybe it would finally get some sort of a reaction out of her.

"XO," he called out. "You have the conn."

"Yes sir. I have the conn."

* * *

Kara was bent over their coffee table when Lee opened the hatch. Her head jerked up, revealing that she had been in the process of putting a piece of fruit from the tray he'd brought earlier into her mouth. She jumped to her feet, her stringy, unwashed hair falling down to cover her face as she stuffed the rest of the piece into her mouth. She looked at Lee from behind her hair while trying to chew and swallow as fast as she could.

It looked as if she was ready to bolt as Lee closed the hatch and walked the short distance towards her. But as Lee got closer, she stopped swaying left to right and just stood there, with her head bowed and shoulders hunched. He could see that she was shaking.

Kara cringed when Lee brought his arms up, shrinking away from him. His heart broke to see his own wife cowering in his presence, and it shattered when he heard her whimper when he gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

It was never supposed to be this way between them. She was strong and struck fear in all those who were stupid enough to try and cross her.

She was his rock. The one he depended on when times got tough.

Not the trembling mass of fear and insecurity that Cylon had turned her into.

He brought his mouth close to where her ear was covered by her hair, ignoring the smell of her unwashed body, and whispered, "It's okay, Kara. It's okay to eat. The food is for you."

And then…

"Leoben was lying. Kacey's not his daughter or yours."

For a long time, she just trembled in his arms, making no indication that she heard him.

And she suddenly spoke. For the first time in weeks he heard his wife speak.

A choked "Oh gods," escaped her throat and Kara broke down.

She finally leaned into him and accepted his embrace in what seemed like forever.

They just stood there as she kept on sobbing.

* * *

The next day, Lee stepped off a Raptor and onto Galactica's hangar deck. A makeshift honor guard was waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp.

Chief Tyrol stepped up and gave saluted.

"Welcome aboard, Commander."

"Chief," Lee returned the salute. "How've you been?"

Tyrol smiled as he said, "Just fine, sir. The Admiral requested that you meet him in his quarters."

Lee nodded and moved to leave, but Tyrol suddenly handed him a flashlight. "And you'll need this, sir."

At Lee's quizzical look, Tyrol explained: "There was a clog in the coolant pipes, so reactors one and two were SCRAMed. All nonessential areas of the ship are on half power until they can be brought back up online. And some of the frames were blacked out to save power, sir."

"Ah. Carry on, Chief."

Tyrol gave one last salute. "Yes sir."

A few minutes and a bumped elbow later, Lee made it to his father's quarters.

He knocked on the hatch before making his way inside. He switched off the flashlight as he did so, since the room was lit, unlike the hallway outside.

"Admiral."

"Lee. Come in. How was the walk?"

Lee pocketed the flashlight. He'd need it again on the way back to the hangar. "Dim."

"Sorry about that," Adama patted a bulkhead. "She's starting to show her age."

Adama gestured for his son to sit down and joined him on the couch.

"How is she?" the Admiral asked, getting straight to the important part.

Lee breathed out as he shifted on the couch. The flashlight was digging into his leg. "Better now that she knows that Leoben was lying. I got her to eat half a plate last night and this morning." He allowed himself a small smile, remembering how they sat together on the couch and she let him feed her for once. "It used to be she wouldn't even look at food if I was in the room with her. We're getting somewhere. I think."

Adama nodded, relieved. "Good. Is she talking again?"

"No. Not yet."

They lapsed into silence for a while before Lee broke it. "So what did I need to come over for?"

Adama shook his head. "It's best if I wait to tell you."

"Why?"

"We're not all here."

"Who're we waiting for?"

Just then, the hatch opened with no knock, and in came President Laura Roslin, clutching a flashlight of her own.

"Gentlemen," she said in her perpetually breezy tone.

"Madame President," both men responded simultaneously.

"Admiral, I must say that the walk through your ship today brought up some unpleasant memories."

Lee remembered what she was talking about. It had been right after Boomer had shot his father and they were boarded by Cylons. The fighting had been desperate and he barely made it through the day.

He shook away the memories as Roslin continued to talk.

"So why are we here?"

Adama moved to the hatch. "If you two would follow me."

Lee and Roslin switched on their flashlights and followed Adama back out into the dark corridor. A large part of their walk was only made possible by the light of their flashlights, illuminating bits and pieces of the deck, bulkheads, and crewmembers as they passed by. It had been a while since Lee last wandered this battlestar's corridors, but he remembered the number of steps and turns they were making, they were heading to Baltar's old lab.

The stretch of corridor leading to the lab was fully lit, so they turned off their lights and followed Adama into the room. Gaeta was inside, sitting by the former president's Cylon detector. The lieutenant stood when he saw the three of them enter.

"Madame President. Admiral. Commander."

Adama took care of the unnecessary introductions as a formality. "You both remember Lieutenant Gaeta."

Turning to Gaeta, Adama ordered, "Tell them exactly what you told me."

Gaeta nodded and began to speak. "I was going to run this girl's…" he checked the label on the blood sample he had been trying to test. "Uh, Kacey Brynn's…blood sample through Dr. Baltar's Cylon detector, but the program wouldn't properly run."

Lee felt a sudden tightening in his chest when he heard Kacey's name as Gaeta continued to talk.

"It wasn't a software problem so I began to make sure everything was in working order. That's when I found…" the lieutenant bent down to open a panel at the side of the Cylon detector. "That the nuclear material was missing."

Lee and Roslin craned their necks to see that there was a large gap among the circuitry, with free hanging wires that indicated that something used to be there.

Adama's gravelly voice "This lab was sealed after Baltar was elected to office, and he was the only one with free access to this room before that."

Lee made the connection first. Even though it had been years since the incident, he still remembered the way Pegasus shook with the impact from all that debris and the way the DRADIS screens looked when he limped into CIC. "My gods…Cloud Nine…"

Roslin was equally horrified. "But you just gave Baltar the payload to work with," she insisted to Adama. "Not the actual warhead."

The admiral shook his head. "Someone who knew what they were doing can make a homemade tylium bomb that can set off a proper reaction. Even if something went wrong, at the very least, the explosion would disperse lethal amounts of radiation throughout whichever ship it was set off in."

Roslin brought her hands up to her mouth. "Oh my…"

Adama kept on talking. "There's enough fissile material in one nuclear warhead to take out an entire basestar. Cloud Nine was nothing."

Lee shook his head. "Baltar's a lot of things, but he's not a killer. He just doesn't have it in him."

His father turned to face him. "True. But you remember that Pegasus used to have another Cylon prisoner, and that Baltar had a fascination with her before she went missing."

Lee went silent and tried to process how Baltar he now had to consider the slick, self-serving coward as a mass murderer responsible for the deaths of over three thousand people as well.

"You're going to have to turn this evidence over to the prosecution," Roslin said quietly, having recovered faster than Lee. "This is has to be added to the list of charges."

Lee looked up from the scuff mark on the deck he had been staring at. The former president had been set to go on trial for treason, although a good defense could have argued that Baltar had no choice in the face of total destruction of humanity. Now, with this new evidence, the man had no chance, even if he was somehow acquitted.

He spoke softly, voicing the opinions of everyone in the room: "Baltar's a dead man now."

* * *

**SCRAM: real life acronym meaning Safety Control Rod Axe Man. Now used to describe the emergency shut down of a nuclear reactor.**

**Next time, we'll get to see more of Kara getting back to her old self as well as what Lee did to Leoben.**

**Until then, reviews are love, everyone.**


	57. Chapter 57

Kara sat on the couch in the commander's stateroom, trying to read the book Lee had brought for her from the ship's library. She was doing better. She was eating again and felt comfortable enough to let Lee take her to sickbay to make sure that she was regaining weight she'd lost over the past few months.

But it looked as if it would still be some time before she would be ready to resume her duties. For now, Hammerhead was running the air group while Showboat kept the Viper squadrons in the air.

She still wasn't talking much. She answered the doctor's questions with short replies, most of which bordered on monosyllabic, and her conversations with Lee were limited to him attempting to make something out of small talk.

They still hadn't talked about what happened, and they weren't anywhere close to being as intimate as they once were.

The book wasn't doing much to hold Kara's attention and her mind was wandering. She could remember how her Viper shook as she came to her senses with Lee roaring in her ear, and the press of the g-forces as she pulled up and hit the throttle. Then she found out that Kelly died and…

Her hands had unconsciously traveled to cradle her abdomen through the sweatshirt she was wearing.

Kara swallowed and took her hands away from her body.

No.

She didn't want to think about that.

Kara stood up and looked around for something that could distract her from her own thoughts. Nothing.

She walked over to her locker. There was a piece of paper on the top shelf that she didn't remember putting there. She pulled it out to see that it was the photo of her and Zak laughing and holding each other.

Zak had proposed just a few days before that photo had been taken, and they had told Lee just a few minutes before. She remembered laughingly interrupting Zak and him doing the same to her as they told Lee the news, and Lee's slightly uncomfortable smile as he congratulated them.

She'd run through her life thus far over the past several years since she and Lee began their relationship and got married, comparing herself from before and after Lee's accident. Up until then, she'd stubbornly remained the hotshot pilot with nothing to lose. But she had grown up fast after being forced to confront the fact that she'd nearly lost the man who meant everything to her.

The more she thought about it, she and Zak had never really meant to be. They had been happy together and were engaged, and she would always cherish the times they had. But a lot of it had to do with the illicit nature of their relationship and the fact that they could have both been drummed out of the service if caught. And they were more excited about getting married rather than being married.

Knowing what she knew now, she doubted their marriage would have lasted long.

Kara moved back to the couch while still staring at the photo.

But her thoughts were now firmly on her husband.

* * *

Lee stepped off the Raptor's ramp and onto the cramped and dingy hangar bay of the Astral Queen. It had been a while since Lee last stepped foot on this ship, but it was just as he remembered it: dim and depressing. Tom Zarek was there to meet him on the deck, wearing his now customary suit, but without his ceremonial sash or a tie.

"What are you doing here?" Lee asked, squinting slightly. "I thought there was a Quorum meeting scheduled for today."

"It was canceled," Zarek answered matter-of-factly.

"You sound relieved."

The two men walked out of the hangar bay as Zarek kept on talking, "Politics as an insider, it turns out, is tedious and boring at the best of times. Especially if you have to work with amateurs intent on reliving their elementary school glory days."

Lee just grunted in mock sympathy, although Zarek seemed to not notice. "Few things turned out the way I hoped they would."

Lee shrugged. "The worlds ended. What did you expect?"

Zarek paused and turned to face Lee so that he could appraise the younger man up and down. "This coming from the man who stands for the ideals upheld on those worlds."

When Lee didn't answer, Zarek kept on walking, with Lee keeping step.

"I have to say, I was a bit surprised to receive your call. Especially considering the nature of your request."

Lee immediately went on the defensive. Although Kara was doing better, and a lot of the stress he had been under was now gone, his temper was still almost constantly on the verge of boiling over. His tone was low as he said, "What are you trying to say, Tom?"

Zarek just shrugged. "Nothing. We can rehash all those conversations we once had, Apollo. But now…it all seems a bit meaningless. Besides. I agreed to it, didn't I?"

Lee just narrowed his eyes.

"You and me. We're one and the same," Zarek continued, choosing to ignore the angry vibes rolling off of Lee. "Two idealists who find themselves forced to compromise due to extreme circumstances."

Lee just shook his head as they kept on walking. They moved down the Astral Queen's main corridor towards the stern of the ship, passing by her cells' former occupants as they went about their responsibilities in keeping the ship flying. Lee was not familiar with this section of the ship. He was only familiar with the main holding bay and crews' quarters from the time he and President Roslin had led part of the fleet away from Galactica to Kobol.

This ship held memories for him. Coming aboard, he'd had to walk through the small room where he'd exuberantly kissed Kara for the first time, and they'd passed the door to the crew showers where he'd inadvertently told Kara that he loved her and, like a fool, ran away when she confronted him about it.

Zarek, in the meanwhile, had led Lee to a section of the Astral Queen that he'd never seen before.

"This ship was retrofitted twice. They extended her once to add another bay of cells, and added another smaller section the second time, along with the usual engine refits and what have you. We're keeping your 'friend' in the second bay."

Zarek pushed open a hatch to reveal rows upon rows of cells much like the section where Lee had been caught in during that prisoner riot all those years ago. The prisoners had obviously worked to try and give the place a homier atmosphere. Wooden boards and sheets were fastened to the bars to provide privacy and it looked as if they had disconnected the central locking mechanism so that each cell door could be opened and shut by the cells' occupants as they pleased.

Zarek pointed to the far bulkhead. "He's back here in one of the tanks they put us in before moving us to the actual cells."

"The asshole actually enjoyed it at first, you know," he said as he led Lee across the deck. "But there's a trick to dealing with freaks like him: enjoy it more."

They approached another hatch guarded by a rather large man standing with his arms crossed. Seeing Zarek approach, the guard immediately straightened and opened the hatch for them.

Inside was a large holding tank. And inside that holding tank was one Leoben Conoy, naked save for a severely soiled blanket, and curled up in a fetal position on the deck to which he was chained. He looked far worse than when Lee had him hooded and loaded onto a Raptor for the flight over, because although Lee wanted to keep Leoben aboard Pegasus, he'd been around long enough to know that mere beatings would do little to the Cylon.

Walking up to the bars, Lee could see that the Cylon's injuries were extensive, including, but not limited to, the shackled ankle that was rubbed raw and on the verge of becoming infected.

"What the hell did you do to him, Tom?"

Zarek, again, just shrugged. "Nothing more than what any fresh fish would go through. He's alive, just like you specified."

Lee tiled his body to get a better view of Leoben through the bars. "When I said I said I wanted him broken, I didn't mean literally."

Zarek gave a little snort. "It's nothing he can't recover from. The first three years are always the hardest."

The big guard had followed them in. At Zarek's nod, the guard pulled a lever and the holding tank door rolled open, letting them in.

Lee slowly stepped up to the Cylon. Leoben's eyes were open and followed Lee around, but they were flat and did not show any sort of recognition.

Lee squatted won and reached to pull back the ratty cloth that covered the Cylon, but Zarek stopped him. "I wouldn't touch anything in here with bare hands if I were you."

The older man simply kicked the cloth off of Leoben, exposing cuts, bruises, and the rudimentary medical care (it was a stretch to even call in rudimentary) someone had given him.

Lee's eyes caught several rough stitches on the Cylon's body that had apparently been torn and re-stitched over and over again. Zarek immediately noted the look of revulsion on Apollo's face.

"Not pretty when you actually see what happens up close, is it?"

Lee's eyes flicked down again. He couldn't help it, but he had to make sure what he was seeing was real.

"It's a struggle to keep your dignity, but after the first few times, you learn to accept it. And then you learn to give it to others."

Lee stood up and swallowed. "Did you-?"

Zarek shook his head. "No. No," he said as if he was refusing refreshments at a private get-together. "There's a lovely woman about my age aboard the Pearl of the Aegean who takes care of those needs for me. I'm actually thinking about asking her to marry me."

Lee's forehead wrinkled a bit at that bit of news.

"I, nor any of the men you see moving freely on this ship, did nothing more than soften this fish up. But there are men aboard the Astral Queen who are truly sick and kept in the maximum security cells installed in the second refit. Men even I believe should be kept locked up forever. Every once in a while, their cells need to be cleaned, so we bring them over to this holding tank while that's being done."

Noticing that Lee was looking back down and surveying the Cylon's injuries again, Zarek said, "Don't tell me you're feeling sympathy for him."

Lee looked back up, and Zarek shook his head in disbelief. "Amazing. After all we've been through, you still have your empathy."

But the older man immediately shut up when he saw Lee's expression harden.

Lee toed Leoben's face with his boot so that the Cylon was looking up at him.

"You thought we'd want to talk? Didn't you?" Lee said as he pressed down with his foot. He could feel the give of the Cylon's face beneath his boot sole.

He pressed down a little bit harder, enjoying the sensation of how Leoben's face slid around on his skull. If Leoben had been caught in any other situation, Lee would have insisted on interrogating the Cylon immediately. Or immediate airlocking, considering that this particular model was known for twisting words and generally being untruthful.

But the fraker had a thing for Kara as well as stalking little girls. That put him in a special place in Lee's book.

Lee abruptly straightened and turned on his heel.

He suddenly needed to get out of there.

Even though it had just been a few hours, he wanted to see Kara again.

"Don't you want him back?" Zarek called after him.

Lee yelled back, "Not yet."

* * *

Kara was still curled up on the couch when Lee got back. He sat down next to her gently as gently as he could so as not to shift the cushions too much. She looked up when he sat down before looking back down at the photograph of her and Zak.

Lee leaned over to see what she was looking at and suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You two were happy," he said quietly.

Kara shook her head and said, "It wouldn't have lasted."

"Don't say that."

Kara looked up into Lee's eyes. Her gaze told him that was exactly how she felt and there was no way she was going to change her mind.

She looked back down at the photo.

"You were in this photo too. Remember?" Kara ran her finger along the frayed edge where she had carefully torn along the well-worn crease. "I have that piece in a frame on my office desk."

Lee was unsure about where this was going, so he decided to remain silent as Kara spoke. This was the most she'd said since she began talking again. He didn't want to say anything that might make her clam up again.

"I've been thinking about things. How my life would have turned out if I made different decisions. But no matter what happens, the end to my story's always the same."

Kara leaned forward to put the photograph on their coffee table before she suddenly leaned against Lee's shoulder to mold herself against him. In his surprise, Lee automatically raised his arm to wrap it around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Kara put an arm over Lee's waist and spoke into his chest. "It ends with you."

Holding back his tears, Lee slowly brought his face down to the top of Kara's head.

"All the shit, pain, mistakes, and regrets that I've had. I wouldn't change any of it, because all of that brought me to you."

Kara tilted her head back to look at Lee and softly asked, with wide open eyes, "Is there anything you'd want to change?"

Lee shook his head before quietly answering: "No."

Kara brought her head down to Lee's chest again and listened to the steady beating of his heart. She suddenly had a change of heart, so she took a breath and said, "There's one thing I wish I could change. I wish I met you earlier. So that you'd be my first and only."

There was no hesitation before Lee's reply. "Me too."

She looked up and he looked down to see the truth in each other's statement.

And for the first time in months, their lips met softly.

* * *

**This was a particularly hard chapter for me to write. I would love to know what you all thought about it.**


	58. Chapter 58

"_We are coming to you, live, from the Battlestar Galactica, where part of the massive hangar deck has been converted into a makeshift courtroom. After months of trying to figure out how to proceed, and negotiations between the prosecution and the defense, the government will finally be putting former President Gaius Baltar on trial for treason, cowardice in the face of the enemy, and as an accessory in the murder of the victims of the Cloud Nine explosion two and a half years ago. Today, we will be hearing opening arguments from both sides before witnesses are called and evidence is presented to the nine ship commanders who will hear the case and pass judgment. Heading this panel is Admiral William Adama…"_

Lee leaned back in his chair in one of Pegasus' conference rooms as his XO and Hammerhead did the same. They were alone in the large room, save for the scattered papers all over the long conference table, which were completely ignored after Lee had the wireless broadcast piped in through the conference room's speakers.

The three men had been in the middle of going through personnel files sent over from Galactica. Because so much floor space had been needed for the trial, only the hangar bays of the two battlestars were the only places where it could be held. It was quickly agreed that Galactica would be the venue chosen, while Pegasus would take primary responsibility for fleet security.

Half of Galactica's Vipers, Raptors, and the crews needed to fly and maintain them had been flown over to make room in the hangar bay. Space was going to be tight in the Pegasus' crew living quarters. Even squadron leaders were hot bunking because of the lack of available berths, and the situation was even worse in the enlisted sections of the ship.

But they would just have to make do until the trial was over.

Lee found reading through Galactica's personnel files to be a sobering exercise. He only recognized the names of the most senior pilots-many of them had been barely more than nuggets when he had been promoted to Commander.

"This is going to be a farce, sir," the XO said, interrupting Lee's thoughts.

Lee just grunted and reached for another file, and the two men with him wordlessly did the same.

"_Brendan Constanza,"_ he silently read as the tinny voice of the journalist continued to filter through the speakers. _"Callsign: Hotdog…Promoted to Captain and DCAG of Galactica's air wing after Louanne Katraine was killed in action…"_

Lee shut the file closed with a snap. He hated moments where he was reminded of his mortality and that of those around him. Most of the pilots he'd flown with back on Galactica were either dead or permanently injured while he had been lucky enough to survive this far.

"Commander?"

Lee looked up from the folders in front of him to Hammerhead.

"How's Major Adama doing? Will she be back soon?"

"She's doing better," Lee answered truthfully.

Kara was steadily improving. She was on track to regaining the weight she'd lost and accompanied Lee on walks around the ship. It would still be a while before she was strong enough to go on daily runs like she used to, though.

"She'll be back once she passes a flight physical," he continued.

Lee let out a sigh and tossed Hotdog's file back onto the table. He figured he'd gone through enough of those today so he stood up to leave the XO and Hammerhead to it.

As per protocol, the two other men with him also stood.

"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen."

"Commander."

"Sir."

Lee walked out of the conference room with a nod.

Meanwhile, the reporter on the wireless continued to speak: _"But while we wait, a little background on the proceedings. As you all know, on the old worlds, Doctor Gaius Baltar, PhD, was a leading…"_

* * *

The small wireless unit Kara and Lee kept in their quarters had been on when Kara went out, so she could hear the reporter talking when she came back in:

"…_researcher in the field of computer technology and programming, as well as the head of development for the CNP for the Department of Defense. He was also an advocate for the advancement of AI technology after the government freeze on all such programs in the aftermath of the Cylon War…"_

Kara flipped off the wireless. She wasn't particularly interested in Baltar's trial. As far as she was concerned, the frakwit was going out an airlock no matter what the verdict was. The people hated him just that much.

She needed a shower more than she needed to hear some boring people make the longest possible argument for the most obvious answer, because today, for the first time in a long while, she left the confines of the commander's stateroom alone and took a walk by herself. She even found an empty stretch of corridor to try running again, only to find herself quickly out of breath and covered in pouring sweat only after a few feet. She'd lost too much muscle mass to immediately go back to her old routine. It would take some time before she was pounding along the decks again.

Kara stripped off her sweat soaked clothes and dropped them into a damp pile by the head and walked inside to turn on the shower. She washed for a leisurely five minutes, soaping up and rinsing several times during that span of time. For weeks, Lee had done what he could to keep her clean with a warm, soapy washcloth until she slowly came to realize that she reeked. It had felt good to wash and shave after so long.

When she was done, the tiny head was filled with steam that drifted out into the main cabin. Kara stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and slowly dried herself off in front of the steamed up mirror. She could just make out her hazy figure on the glass and slowly brought one hand down along the cold surface.

She stared at herself in the mirror as her hands traveled lightly across her abdomen.

So far, this action was the closest Kara could get to acknowledging that she had been pregnant. She took a breath, closed her eyes, and pressed her hands a little harder against her skin.

A quiet noise caused Kara to whip around with a gasp and bring her hands up to cover herself, to see that it was Lee standing at the entrance. His expression morphed quickly, going through the entire spectrum of emotions before he softly said, "Sorry," and turned to walk away.

"Lee…wait," Kara suddenly called out and he stopped to turn back.

They stood, facing each other, one inside the head, one inside the main cabin. Close enough that her bare body was almost brushing against his clothed one. Kara pointedly didn't make eye contact as she took a breath and brought her hands up and moved them towards Lee. She was hesitant in her movements and hesitated when her palms just touched the fabric of Lee's uniform jacket.

It was as if she had forgotten how to consciously initiate physical contact, but Kara closed her eyes, and closed the final, miniscule distance. Slowly, with just her fingertips nervously dancing against Lee's chest, and then her fingers, before finally her palms lay flat against him.

She felt Lee's hands coming to a rest on her waist with the same hesitant movements. For the moment, their hands were the only things connecting them to each other. They took shallow breaths, quickly taking in the other's scent before Kara opened her eyes to look up at Lee's face.

Their eyes made contact, and Lee softly breathed, "You are so beautiful."

Kara shook her head in disagreement. "No…I'm not."

But Lee just nodded and spoke adamantly, "Yes, you are."

She looked back up into his deep blue eyes, and she saw that he truly believed what he was saying. She would always be beautiful to him.

She would always be the only one for him, no matter what happened.

The warm sensation of being loved so completely flooded through Kara's body and all traces of hesitation disappeared. She brought her hands up to link behind Lee's neck and pressed herself against him.

Their lips came together hungrily.

Their arms could only do so much to bring them together, so Kara jumped up and wrapped her legs around Lee's hips as his hands automatically slid beneath her buttocks to support her weight against him.

Forcing herself to tear her lips away from Lee's for just a moment, Kara breathlessly said, "Take me to bed."

Their breaths mingled as they stared into each other's eyes with pounding hearts.

"Make love to me."

Lee wasted no time in carrying Kara over to their rack.

Their first time was over quickly.

It had been so long since they last made love, and Lee had barely had the chance to get undressed.

Their second time was slower and lasted longer as Lee let Kara guide him and tell him what she wanted.

It was during their third time, as Lee slowly moved on top-and inside-of her that Kara was transported back to that night on New Caprica, when they declared their love for each other beneath the stars, and to all those subsequent nights when they made love by the dying embers of their campfire.

That planet was supposed to have been their new start, but like the ones before it, the Cylons came to take it away. But they escaped. The human race was, if nothing else, extremely resilient. They moved on and found new hope of a home somewhere out in the blackness to carry one living.

And as her eyes snapped open to lock onto Lee's as pleasure rippled through her body one last time, she realized that nothing would ever break her completely. She was stronger than anything that could be thrown at her.

And she had Lee, her husband, the love of her life to depend on in those times when she had a hard time believing it.

Everything would be alright.

* * *

**Kara's recovery isn't complete. We'll see more in the upcoming chapters.**

**Three songs that I want to share with all of you (just paste what's in the parentheses to the end of the youtube url):**

"**The Dance" by Garth Brooks (/watch?v=RsLqAb_5DS0)  
**

**T****he excellent cover version by Westlife that led me to the original (/watch?v=qY0Tnbt90UY)  
**

"**Written in the Stars" by Westlife (/watch?v=GMF6JAVJnhs)  
**

**And yes, I did finally find a way to squeeze the title of this story into the text itself.**


	59. Chapter 59

**To those who notice my many typos and grammatical errors: Yes, I am aware of them. I have gone back and fixed several big ones in the past, and fully intend to fix the rest when I have the chance.**

**Now, stop busting my chpos and enjoy the storie.**

* * *

Kara woke up feeling warmer than ever, cocooned beneath the blanket and Lee's embrace. For once, she didn't jerk awake-wild eyed, trembling, and dripping in cold sweat-because of her dreams and the laughing faces of the twins that could have been.

They haunted her day and night, but tonight, for once, she didn't dream, and she realized that she felt safe again.

Kara lifted her head so that she could press a kiss against the skin of the one man who could make her feel that way. She would be eternally grateful to whoever it was that made it so their paths would be forever intertwined.

Lee shifted slightly in his sleep. Kara moved with him, letting her body and cheek settle against him as he relaxed back onto the mattress. She lay there, in the dark, and listened to the sounds of their breathing

Slowly, she drifted back off to sleep, gently running her fingers through the hairs on Lee's chest.

* * *

For everyone in the fleet who was able to understand what was going on, the trial, a sad a reminder as it was about their past, had become the latest way to keep themselves distracted from the present. Throughout Pegasus, crewmembers who had the time to spare gathered around wireless units throughout the ship to hear the latest news from Galactica as reported by whichever reporter whose turn it was to man the wireless.

"_In a couple of hours, we will be beginning Day Fifteen of the trial of Doctor Gaius Baltar. So far, we have heard testimony from former political prisoners imprisoned in the Cylon gulag, as well as members of the former Baltar administration and the now-defunct New Caprica Police. We have yet to hear any testimony that puts Baltar in a favorable light. Particularly damning was the testimony of Lieutenant Felix Gaeta, currently serving as aide-de-camp to Admiral William Adama. He was Baltar's personal aide on New Caprica and spoke of nightly alcohol and drug fueled orgies with prostitutes that went on aboard Colonial One while the people living in the city below struggled with the collapse of a barely-there infrastructure, rampant crime, a non-existent economy, and near-constant food shortages._

_Sources tell me that the prosecution will present a so-called star witness today. One whose testimony will be, as someone close to the proceedings told me, will be: 'the final nail in Baltar's coffin.'"_

* * *

Lee walked through Pegasus while adjusting his dress uniform's sash. He'd decided to forgo the white gloves because he wasn't dressed this way for an official ceremony, and they made it impossible for him to grip anything.

The corridors were more crowded than usual because of the large number of Galactica personnel currently aboard Pegasus. It was times like this where Lee's rank especially came in handy, because everyone scrambled to get out of his way, freeing up a path before him so that he could walk unmolested, rather than threading his way around people.

It was easy to distinguish who was from Galactica and who was from Pegasus, and not just because of the gold and silver patches on their shoulders. No, the people from Galactica were quite noticeable due to the looks of bewilderment they had on their faces as they tried to navigate Pegasus' labyrinthine corridors.

None of the temporary transfers had ever set foot on a battlestar other than Galactica, and were unfamiliar with how to get around Pegasus, because it, like the older Galactica, had been built using military logic. Not one corridor ran the entire length of the ship. Getting from one end of a deck to another meant clambering up and down narrow metal stairs to different decks and making many turns while avoiding people, equipment, and keeping track of the often chipped and faded frame numbers helpfully painted in places that didn't immediately catch the eye.

It was easy to get disoriented. Lee wouldn't admit it to anybody, but he still did on occasion.

At least he knew where the frame numbers were.

Today, however, he was walking a path he often found himself along, and was soon in front of a very familiar hatch. He opened it and entered Caprica's holding cell.

Inside, the female marines of the Cylon's protection detail were in their own dress uniforms with sidearms strapped to their hips. They snapped to attention when Lee came in.

Lee turned to the sergeant in charge and asked, "Are you ready to move?"

"We're ready to shackle her now, sir."

"Give me a minute."

"Yes sir."

Lee punched in the code on the numeric keypad by the cell door and stepped inside to where Caprica was checking herself in a mirror she was allowed just for today.

They'd given Caprica back the clothes she'd worn when she first arrived on Pegasus so that she could testify in Baltar's trial in something other than the sweats she usually spent her days in. And at the prosecutor's suggestion, Lee had sent York to find a conservative business jacket to cover the form-fitting halter top.

"Ready to go?"

"I suppose."

Caprica shrugged on her jacket and pulled her hair out from beneath the collar. It wasn't an exact fit, and a bit tight at the shoulders, but it would have to do.

"You'll be staying aboard Galactica for the next few days. Their old Cylon holding cell's been taken out of mothballs for you."

Caprica tried to button up her jacket, but quickly gave up. It was tight around the chest as well.

"Do you know how long I'll be there?" she asked.

Lee answered, "For however long they need you. The marines out there will be coming along for security."

"Oh? For me or for the people?"

"Does it really matter anymore?"

Caprica shook her head slowly. "No…I guess not."

Lee took a step back and motioned for the marines to come in. They did, and promptly fastened a set of handcuffs around Caprica's wrists. One of the marines bent down to put shackles on her ankles and another pulled out the choker collar, but Lee stopped them.

"No, just the handcuffs."

There was a briefest hesitation before the marines stepped away from Caprica. "Yes sir."

Lee turned around and walked out of the cell, turning his head to say over his shoulder, "Let's go."

* * *

The chime and announcement over the intercom told Kara that Lee had taken off for Galactica just as she walked out of the hatch to their cabin. She looked down to check herself for one last time before walking down the corridor.

It felt strange to be back in uniform. Everything hung a little looser now, especially around her collar, and she had to cinch her belt tighter than she used to. But Kara found herself becoming a little stir-crazy after spending so long closed off from other people.

Getting back in a plane was out of the question. Even she had to admit that she was in no shape to handle the g-forces a pilot would have to endure in combat. It would be a while before she built her muscle mass back up to be considered flight ready again.

But she needed to do something. And right now, even paperwork and getting caught up with what was happening with her air group was sounding quite attractive.

Kara passed by officers and enlisted crewmembers who all looked slightly surprised to see her out and about again, but managed to recover fast enough to say hello. The greetings got more and more familiar as she got closer to the hangar deck, although she just accepted every one of them with a little nod.

Finally, Kara reached the hatch to her office, with its metal plaque that read: _"Major Kara Adama, CAG"_. She could hear two male voices yelling at each other from inside her office, muffled enough by the hatch so that she could tell that they were angry but couldn't tell what they were angry about. Kara grabbed the knob and threw the hatch open. The non air-tight door swung easily on its hinges and hit the bulkhead with a bang loud enough to make the two men inside shut up freeze.

Hammerhead and Hotdog had been arguing about CAP rotations, but now they stood and stared with a small measure of surprise and fear in their eyes, at Pegasus' CAG, as she stood at the threshold to her office, looking back at them with an unreadable expression on her face.

Kara's eyes flicked between the two before she quietly asked, "Is there a problem?"

* * *

"_Security has been upped, today, aboard the Battlestar Galactica, in anticipation of the arrival of the prosecution's star witness. I can now confirm that this star witness is actually a female Cylon who defected, although we have not been told when exactly this defection occurred. Until now, she has been kept on Pegasus under armed guard, where it is said that she has been quite cooperative and forthcoming with providing information about the Cylons."_

* * *

Lee spent the morning listening to Caprica's testimony. Most of it was stuff he'd already heard before during his initial interrogation of her-the nature of her relationship with Baltar and how she exploited it to get access to the CNP and install the backdoor used by the Cylons to disable the Colonial Fleet's ships and fighters, etc.

After a quick lunch with his father, Lee prepared to head back to Pegasus. He was passing by the open door of a conference room when he heard Julia's voice call out: "Kacey!" just as that familiar weight slammed against his hip.

He looked down to see Kacey's face grinning up at him.

"Hi, Lee!"

Lee grinned back as he gently pried the girl's arms from around his waist. "Hey, Kacey."

"Where's Kara?" Kacey asked.

"She's back on Pegasus," Lee answered as he gently grasped Kacey's shoulders and turned her around.

Kacey craned her neck so she could look up at Lee. "I want to see her."

Lee just smiled as he ushered her back into the conference room where her mother stood with hands on her hips. He wasn't too sure how Kara would react to seeing Kacey again, after what Leoben had claimed-even if it was proven to be false.

"Sorry, about that, Commander," Julia apologized as she shut the conference room door behind them. Turning to Kacey, she scolded, "What did I tell you when we got here?"

Kacey knew well enough to turn her eyes to the deck and look apologetic. "Not to run off."

"Right. Now get back in your chair and stay still, young lady."

Kacey quietly moped back to the chair she'd abandoned and picked up a marker to draw on a sheet of paper.

"Sorry again, Commander. Her teacher caught something so school was canceled today, and I couldn't arrange for anyone to take care of her on such short notice, and…"

"It's alright. So she's been with you all morning, then?"

"Yes. I got permission to bring her along, since I'm just in here going through books and reviewing briefs."

"If you'd like, I can take her for a few hours. Keep her occupied."

"Oh no…I'm sure you're busy, and this is only for today…Lieutenant Dualla found some colored markers for Kacey. She's been drawing up a storm."

Lee didn't even blink at the mention of his ex and just took a glance to where Kacey was scribbling away next to a stack of drawings. "Is she now?"

Julia spared an indulgent smile towards her daughter. "Yes."

"Well," Lee looked back and Julia. "I better get going. Are you sure I can't look after her for you?"

Julia shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We'll be fine."

"Okay, then." Lee called out to Kacey, "Bye, Kacey. I've got to go."

He waved and moved to leave, but Kacey yelled, "Wait!"

Lee watched as the little girl jumped out of her chair and quickly, but carefully, folded a sheet of paper in half before running towards him. Lee knelt down when Kacey got close.

"This is for Kara," Kacey said, pushing the folded paper into Lee's hands.

Lee glanced at it and undid the clasp of his dress uniform's jacket to tuck it inside.

"I'll make sure she gets it," he said as he redid the jacket's clasp.

"Bye."

Kacey wrapped her arms around Lee's neck for a hug.

"Bye."

* * *

Kara was already back when Lee got back to the commander's stateroom to change into his duty uniform. She sat on the couch with her jacket unbuttoned and a stack of files on the coffee table.

"Hey," Lee said. He squinted at the sight of Kara in uniform. "Did you go out?"

Kara looked up. "Yeah. Stopped by my office and did some paperwork."

Lee had a strange look on his face as moved to join Kara on the couch.

Kara squinted back at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Lee took a seat by his wife. "It's nice to see you back in uniform."

"So, did you have fun?" he asked.

Kara gave him a small smile. "Yeah. I got to chew out Hotdog again. It's been a while since I got to do that. How was Galactica?"

"Not bad. Had lunch with my dad. He wants to see you. And I ran into Kacey and Julia. Kacey wanted me to give you something."

Lee reached into his jacket to pull out the folded sheet of paper he'd received earlier and handed it to Kara. She looked at Lee and then at the paper before she opened it to see what was inside.

It was a drawing of the plush monster doll Kara had found for Kacey when the girl and her mother moved off Pegasus. At the top left corner, in childish scrawl were the words _"To Kara," _and at the bottom right was _"From Kacey."_

Kara sniffed loudly as tears welled up in her eyes from the sudden wave of emotions that rushed through her.

'_He said she was my daughter,"_ she thought._ "That I was a mother.'_

Then: _'I was a mother. I was supposed to be a mother…but I lost them…'_

Lee gently cupped Kara's face and lifted her chin so that he could see her tear-filled hazel eyes.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Kara took Lee's hands away from her face and held them in her own.

"Do you remember that I had a dream the night before I flew into that planet?"

Lee nodded. He remembered every detail of that day, including their conversation as they got ready to head out that morning. "Yeah?"

"And how I told you it was just strange?"

Lee nodded again.

"I lied," Kara said softly.

She blinked rapidly several times and didn't notice the tears tracking down her cheeks as she prepared herself to go back to that dream again. The one that had-only until recently-haunted her day and night for months.

"I dreamt that I was in my old apartment on Caprica, and Leoben was there," Kara said. "And he tried to…rape me."

Kara could feel Lee's shuddering breath travel through his body to hers by their joined hands. She swallowed hard before continuing. "He had me pinned to the wall and I couldn't fight back. But before he could…"

She took her own shuddering breath. The next part would be the hardest.

"I fell through the wall and I was floating…somewhere…and I saw us. You and me. And I saw our children. We were going to have twins. A boy and a girl. And another after that. I don't know if it was supposed to be a boy or a girl. But…we…I never should have gotten into my plane. I kil-"

"Don't say it," Lee forcefully interjected. His own eyes were brimming with tears as he spoke. "Because you didn't."

One of her hands went to her abdomen and rubbed it through the fabric of her tanks. "It still hurts just as if I did. We were so happy…I wish you could have seen them. They were so beautiful."

"Would I be a good mother, Lee?" Kara continued before Lee had a chance to speak. Her words came out quickly as all that she'd been holding in came pouring out. "Do you think I'd frak our children up like my mother did to me?"

"You're not a frak up," Lee's voice was firm. There were few things that he held as absolute, and the idea that Kara was weak wasn't one of them. "Your mother had problems and she took them out on you, but you didn't break. You're stronger than anyone I know."

One of Lee's hands joined Kara's on her abdomen.

"Gods willing, you and I will see our kids. And you'll teach them how to be strong and to make it through the hard times unscathed."

Kara looked back at Lee with wide eyes, her expression completely vulnerable.

"But you don't believe in the gods." Kara's voice was tiny. Like a little girl's as she tried not to let her view of the world change even as it did.

"You do."

Kara closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know what I believe anymore."

Lee brought the hand he'd placed on Kara's abdomen up to cup her cheek and pulled her closer to him.

"I love you," he whispered as their foreheads touched. "I love you and I'll always be there for you no matter what," he said, reiterating a promise that they made to each other right after Caprica first arrived on Pegasus.

Lee pressed a kiss against Kara's lips before leaning forward to bring his lips to her ear.

"Do you believe that?" he asked softly.

Kara nodded, and their tear-slicked cheeks rubbed together. Lee leaned back so that their eyes made contact once more.

Minutes passed as they just looked at each other in silence. Then Kara brought her hands up to cup Lee's face, and this time, she said it first: "I love you."

"I love you too," Lee responded.

Kara smiled sadly. "I haven't said that in a long time."

Lee didn't answer with words, but brought his lips to hers.

* * *

**The Promise: from way back in Chapter 35. It's also the beautiful title track off of Il Divo's latest album.**

**Also check out "L'alba del Mondo" from the same album. You can find them on YouTube.  
**


	60. Chapter 60

"_Closing arguments were made, earlier today, by both sides before the trial was adjourned so that the panel of judges could convene in private and come up with a verdict. It is widely expected that a guilty verdict is inevitable, as Dr. Baltar's defense team could not come up with a plausible way of denying the accusations against the former president in the face of all the damning evidence presented by the prosecution."_

* * *

Over the next several weeks, Kara went back to resuming most of her duties as CAG of Pegasus' air group. She took over the administrative tasks that Hammerhead and Showboat had been sharing between them in her absence, choosing to ignore the goopy looks the DCAG/ECO and Viper pilot were exchanging when they dropped the files off on her desk. Life had gone on while Kara had been holed up, and the budding romance between her two most senior subordinates was one of the many indicators she noticed.

She shook her head at the memory as she signed off on fuel consumption reports that would eventually make their way to be signed by Lee as she sat next to him in their quarters. She was fine with Hammerhead and Showboat's relationship as long as they didn't get too lovey-dovey in front of her. She wouldn't begrudge them their happiness as long as it-and any potentially disastrous aftermath-didn't affect their duties.

Kara moved onto the next stack of papers and began flipping through training reports. She let a frustrated breath as she did so. Some of the nuggets and a couple of her senior pilots would have to shape up and improve their marksmanship scores if they wanted to survive the Cylons-and her temper-especially since ammunition for their weapons was one of their many non-replenishable resources.

A knock came from her office hatch as she stored away names of those she'd need to yell at when she stopped by the wardroom for lunch.

"Yeah," she called out without looking up.

The hatch opened and Corpsman Kelly's voice said, "Good morning, Major."

"Hey, Kelly," Kara spared a glance up as she reached for a pen. "What brings you down here?"

Kelly stepped up to Kara's desk.

"The Doctor asked me to give you this, sir." She handed Kara a slip of paper.

Kara took it with a curious glance. "Thanks."

"Major."

Kelly exited, closing the hatch behind her, leaving Kara to read through what was written as a frown etched itself across her face.

* * *

"_And after a very short deliberation, the verdict is in: Guilty of all charges. Admiral Adama has adjourned for today, announcing that sentencing will occur tomorrow. In other news…"_

Lee straightened from where he'd been leaning against CIC's chart table with a comms headset pressed against his ear. He made a slicing motion across his throat to tell Hoshi that he was done listening in on the proceedings and set the headset back onto its hook.

"Can't say that anyone will be too surprised at the verdict, sir," the XO said as he put back his own headset.

"No, they won't," Lee replied.

"What do you think the sentence will be, sir?"

Lee annoyedly cleared his throat and said, "I'm sure you have better things to do that think about that, Colonel."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Lee was the first one back in their quarters that evening, and had stripped off his jacket to sit on their couch in just his tanks with his feet propped up on the coffee table when Kara came in.

"Hey," he said, as Kara approached. "How was your day?"

He held out a hand, which Kara took, and pulled her down beside him. Their lips automatically met for a quick kiss when they were close enough.

"The usual," Kara replied as she got to work undoing the buttons of her own jacket. "Paperwork and busting nuggets in the wardroom for slacking off."

She draped her jacket over the couch's arm and brought one foot up so that she could untie her bootlaces.

Lee shifted to a slightly more comfortable position on the couch and asked, "How did that go?"

"The paper work was routine. The nuggets were shaking when I was done."

Kara dropped her boots to the deck. The rubber soles hit the metal with a clunk.

"So. A good day?" Lee asked as Kara brought her feet up next to his on the coffee table.

She nodded and said, "Yeah."

Lee, himself, nodded and smiled, and the two of them lapsed into silence, looking at how their stockinged feet sat side by side before them.

Their pinkies were beginning to play with each other when Kara remembered the paper Kelly had given her earlier that day. She reached over to grab her jacket and fished into its breast pocket to pull it out.

Lee was a bit disappointed at the loss of contact, but was curious to see what Kara was looking for. His curiosity was piqued further when he saw the folded piece of paper she pulled out of her jacket pocket and handed to him.

"Kelly dropped this off by my office this morning."

Lee took the paper from Kara's hands. "What is it?"

Kara just shrugged a shoulder. "Read it."

Lee opened the folded up sheet and read the typed up note. It was from sickbay telling Kara that the doctor now felt that she was ready to undergo a full flight physical. Lee smiled at reading the news. This meant that Kara was almost completely recovered from the malnutrition and resulting severe weight loss from months ago. He looked over at Kara, only to have his smile slowly disappear at the sight of his wife pensively chewing her lip.

'What's wrong? Don't you want this?"

Kara remained silent. She'd spent much of the afternoon, when not otherwise occupied, wondering if she really wanted to get back into her Viper's cockpit. Until now, the closest she got to seeing action was coordinating Pegasus' Viper squadrons and the temporary transfers from Galactica via wireless from CIC during engagements with the Cylons. And during those times, she noticed that she no longer felt the longing to be out there with her fellow pilots like the previous instances when she had been grounded for one reason or another.

Instead, she felt a sneaking sense of dread each time she imagined being out there in the thick of battle.

She suddenly realized that Lee was looking at her with an expectant expression on his face.

"What do you want?" he quietly asked. His voice was barely audible over the constant hum of Pegasus' machinery.

Kara managed to muster up enough of her old bluster to quip, "You," with a little waggle of her eyebrows.

They both let out a small laugh over her comment, but quickly sobered.

"Besides that…" Lee's voice trailed off as his eyes searched Kara's face.

Kara leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. She thought hard about what she wanted. And for once, the first thing that came to mind wasn't flying.

She wanted something else entirely.

"I want a sunny day. A nice warm sunny day out in a park or someplace that has lots of grass. I want to lie out there all day with a blanket, a cooler full of drinks, a basket full of food, and you. No pressure. No worries."

Kara smiled as she imagined how nice it would be to stretch out and feel a sun shining against her skin once again without having to think about anything that was coming up or could occur.

No more of the constant chill of a battlestar because they needed to save on power as well as having her schedule be strictly regimented because of her duties and responsibilities.

And to have as much food she wanted to eat for once, instead of being forced to make do with the limited choice rations that were strictly meted out so as not to put too much of strain on their meager resources.

How lovely it would be.

Kara struggled to remember what it felt like to have the rays of a sun warming her and to feel well and truly stuffed. If she thought hard enough, she could almost feel those sensations again. And as she did, she could almost let herself get lost in the fantasy, and allow all of her senses to wander freely.

And she could suddenly hear children giggling and saw two little brown-haired toddlers rolling around on the grass an arm's length away from her and Lee. She tried to reach out to them but her movements were hampered by her very pregnant belly.

Kara blinked her eyes open as a couple of tears slid down her cheeks to be immediately noticed by Lee, who had been watching her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She sniffed and let him brush the droplets from her skin. "I…" she struggled to think of how to describe what she was suddenly feeling. "Miss them."

There was no other way to say it. She'd never even known she'd had them before she lost them. And she missed them.

"I'm fine," Kara insisted half-heartedly as Lee's arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close against her husband's solid frame. "I'm okay."

Kara sniffed again and brought a hand up to wipe the last few tears that spilled from her eyes.

Lee took Kara's hand in his free one and rubbed his thumb over the Viper wings on her ring.

"We don't do this because we want to," he said gently. "We do it because we have to."

He let out a soft sigh before continuing. "And we do it until we don't have to. Or until we can't."

Kara smiled sadly as she gave Lee's fingers a squeeze. She knew she had to pass that flight physical and requalify in her Viper. She had skills that they needed.

And she needed to fight for their futures.

Hers, Lee's, and those of the children she just knew they were going to have.

"I want to see what comes after this. I want that bright and shiny future."

Their fingers laced together and their eyes met.

"I want it all."

* * *

**The little fantasy comes from a discarded section of Kara's dream from many chapters earlier.**  
**Next time: Lee and Caprica have another talk and Lee revisits an old idea.**


	61. Chapter 61

Lee walked into Caprica's holding cell, gesturing with his hands to the marine who took a breath to call those assembled to attention to forget about it, as Caprica's handcuffs were being unfastened. She and the marines had just gotten back from their stay on Galactica in advance of the organized chaos that was to be the departure of the Galactica contingent aboard Pegasus.

Lee passed the marine exiting the cell to go inside himself.

"Welcome back," he said as Caprica struggled out of her jacket. "How was your trip?"

Caprica didn't answer, but just sat down on her rack, next to the fresh set of sweats that had been placed there for her to change into. Lee made himself comfortable by leaning against the bulkhead opposite her and waited.

"Why wasn't I on trial with him?" Caprica asked softly.

Lee didn't answer, but just watched the Cylon as she stared at her folded hands in her lap.

Caprica looked up and locked eyes with Lee. Her look was a maelstrom of different emotions: sadness, despair, anger…"They're going to send him out an airlock."

Lee replied with a simple, "I know."

Finding little comfort in Lee's answer, Caprica bowed her head once more, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Seeing that they weren't going to have much of a conversation today, Lee pushed himself off the bulkhead and into a standing position.

"I'll leave you to it then," he said, and exited the cell.

One of the marines stepped up to close the cell door behind Lee and made sure it was locked.

"Watch her carefully," he said to no one in particular and left.

* * *

Baltar's lawyers tried to appeal his death sentence and fought hard for it to be brought down to something else, but the panel of ship commanders who heard the initial case eventually decided to reject the appeal and held the death sentence.

In the meanwhile, life was getting back to normal aboard the two battlestars. The makeshift court on Galactica's hangar deck was torn down and the space was reclaimed by the Vipers and Raptors that had temporarily made their home aboard Pegasus, and Pegasus' crew all breathed a collective sigh of relief with the return of what little personal space they used to have.

Kara passed her flight physical and quickly requalified in her Viper so that she could take back full command of Pegasus' air group, while the fleet went back to concentrating on finding the next ring of beacons and getting one step closer to what they hoped to be their new home.

* * *

"_Pegasus. Minotaur. I have a visual on beacon number five,"_ came the wireless message through Hoshi's earpiece.

"Acknowledged, Minotoaur," the lieutenant replied. "Go ahead and bring that in and deactivate it like the others."

"_Copy that, Pegasus. Depressurizing cabin now."_

Hoshi looked up from his station to where Lee was standing next to the XO. "Commander," he said. "Minotaur just found the last beacon

"Thank you, Hoshi," Lee replied as the XO made a mark on the clipboard he was holding.

"And that makes it ring number 934," the Colonel said. "They're coming closer together, sir."

Lee nodded. "Yeah. We must be getting closer to something."

"_Pegasus. Minotaur. We have the fifth beacon on board."_

Four additional blips suddenly appeared on the DRADIS, attracting the XO's attention.

"DRADIS contact! Looks like a Raider scouting party. They're almost right on top of Minotaur."

CIC immediately slipped into its well-practiced routine as crew members moved around focused on their own tasks and moving in near-perfect synchrony.

"Action stations. Go to Condition One. Tell Minotaur to get out of there."

Klaxons blared throughout the ship, and the rest of the crew scrambled to man their battle stations.

"_Action stations. Action stations,"_ Hoshi announced over the intercom._ "Set Condition One throughout the ship."_

Lee craned his neck to look at the DRADIS screens and see where every ship in the fleet was in relation to his. "Where's the CAP?" he asked.

The XO replied, "En route to intercept, sir."

"How long?"

"90 seconds."

The two men watched as the Vipers and Raiders drew closer together. Suddenly, a large blip appeared in the middle of the display.

"Additional DRADIS contact! Cylon basestar has jumped into our vicinity."

Lee's forehead furrowed at the sight. "What?" Then realization dawned on him. "Frak…the beacon!"

Not wanting to wait for Hoshi to work on his station, Lee took the three steps to his communications officer and all but ripped the man's headset from his ears and spoke into the mic.

"Minotaur. Pegasus Actual. Is the last beacon still active?"

The Raptor pilot's voice filtered through CIC's speakers. _"Stand by, Actual. Tweed?"_

The ECO then spoke.

"_Hold on…"_ Those in Pegasus' CIC heard the unmistakable bang of a gunshot over the wireless. _"Beacon deactivated."_

The XO had kept his eyes on the DRADIS while all this was happening, and saw a much too familiar sight unfolding before him. "Basestar is launching Raiders," he announced.

Lee handed the headset back to Hoshi and returned to his usual position by the chart table.

"Get the CAP out of there. Fall back now!"

Hoshi put his headset back on and relayed Lee's orders. Once he was done, he listened to the chatter over the various wireless channels to get a better bearing on what was going on.

"Galactica just gave the order. Civilian ships are jumping away."

Blips on the DRADIS began to disappear as Hoshi made his announcement.

Lee turned to the weapons station. "Is the basestar in range?"

The weapons officer checked her instrumentation. "Just in range of our port batteries, sir."

"Fire all port batteries. Single salvo."

The weapons officer responded, "Yes sir. Fire!"

There was a small thump that ran through the ship as Pegasus' massive port cannons unleashed a hail of fire towards the Cylon basestar.

In CIC, "Hit. Minimal damage to the basestar, sir. It's too far away for us to shoot at it with any sort of accuracy."

"_Pegasus. Tweed. We've been hit. Minotaur's dead. RCS is gone. I can't-"_

The transmission ended with a loud burst of static. The icon on the screens symbolizing Minotaur and Tweed's Raptor blinked out of existence.

Lee closed his eyes for a second before getting back to the task at hand. There'd be time to mourn later.

"Hangar deck is reporting in, sir. The first Vipers are in the tubes and awaiting orders to launch."

Lee shook his head. It wasn't time to launch his fighters. Not just yet.

"Hold on the launch."

"Incoming missiles!"

"_All hands brace for impact!"_

* * *

Everyone on board Pegasus felt the hard impact of the missiles. Kara, in her Viper, was thrown against her instrument panel, surely leaving bruises that would last for a while. She was stuck in the tube until her fraker of a husband gave the order to launch.

"What the hell is going on?" she yelled over the wireless as she made sure that her shoulder hadn't accidentally changed any of her settings. "Come on! Let's go already!"

* * *

Lee barely had time to register the pain radiating from his ribs as the impact from another salvo of missiles rammed him against the chart table one more time.

"Multiple hits to our starboard hull," the XO announced, his own voice relaying the pain he was in. "Structural integrity is holding."

Lee pushed himself back up so he was standing and moved to look at the screen that showed Pegasus' relative position is space. Quickly making mental calculations, he called out his orders to Lewis, the helm officer.

"Helm. New heading. Bearing two three six point zero four five. All ahead full."

Lewis echoed Lee's orders in acknowledgement. "Turning to bearing two three six point zero four five. Engines all ahead full. Aye."

With those orders out of the way, Lee turned to the weapons officer.

"Weapons, CIWS on automatic suppression fire. Ready the forward batteries for salvo fire. Target the basestar's centerline."

"Yes sir. CIWS on automatic. Working on a targeting solution."

"Maneuver complete," Lewis called out from behind the helmsmen. "Ship is now on new heading. Engine room is reporting all ahead full."

"Launch Vipers."

* * *

The familiar g-forces pulled at Kara as she burst out of Pegasus' launch tube and fired her RCS thrusters and engines to head straight towards the Cylons. She craned her neck to the left and to the right to see her air group forming up into squadrons behind her.

She keyed open her wireless mic, "Okay, I don't want to see any heroics out there. We're just holding them off until the fleet can get clear. So I don't want to see any of you chasing after toasters to rack up your kill count or I'll shoot you myself. Got it?"

The chorus of acknowledgements streamed through her in-helmet wireless.

Nodding her head at the knowledge that her message got through, Kara keyed her wireless once again. "Alright. Good hunting."

Kara gave an extra kick to her engines and sped ahead as she visually acquired an incoming raider and jammed her thumb down on her fire button.

* * *

The DRADIS was a jumble of different symbols that were almost impossible to read as fighters from Pegasus and Galactica fought to keep the Cylons away from the civilian fleet.

"Last civilian ship is away," Hoshi said.

The weapons officer piped up soon after. "Targeting solution acquired."

Lee didn't look away from the DRADIS as he said, "Hoshi. Pull the fighters back. Get them clear of our firing line."

* * *

"_Pegasus to all Vipers. Come on home. Repeat. Come on home. Combat landings authorized."_

Kara keyed open her wireless to all her fighters, "You heard the man. Let's get out of here."

Once again, a chorus of acknowledgements flooded her ears as the air group complied and turned back to Pegasus.

Kara fired off one last burst and smirked to see her rounds shredding through a Raider's wing before she flipped her fighter onto its back and gunned her engines towards Pegasus' hangar pods.

She saw flashes from the battlestar's forward batteries and watched as rounds almost half the size of her plane sped past her to bury themselves into the basestar's superstructure.

* * *

"Direct hit! The basestar is gone and remaining Raiders are jumping away, Commander."

A small cheer went up in CIC, but Lee remained focused. "Okay, good work, people. Let's get the ship ready to jump away once the Vipers are on deck."

Hoshi checked off each Viper as it landed in Pegasus' landing pods. With the last check, he called out, "All planes are on deck and accounted for. Galactica reports that she is ready to jump and orders us to go ahead when we're ready."

Lee turned to the XO, "FTL status?"

"Ship is ready to jump in all respects, sir."

"Jump!"

* * *

Jump completed, the Vipers on the landing deck were brought into the hangar one by one.

Kara wearily stepped off the ladder that had been rolled up to her cockpit. The adrenaline was quickly wearing off and her hands were shaking as she took her helmet off. She sat down on the bottom rung and struggled to remove her gloves and straighten out her sweat-soaked and scrunched up ponytail. She made a mental note to either get a haircut or find a better way to fit her hair into her helmet.

Taking a breath, Kara stood and surveyed her Viper for damage. There were a couple of new nicks here and there, where cannon rounds and debris had bounced off her armored hull. It was all quite superficial, Kara decided as she patted her fighter for bringing her home again.

Corpsmen were moving from plane to plane, checking each pilot.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," Kara insisted as Corpsman Cullen came up to her. She jerked her head to indicate that the younger woman should move on to someone else.

"CORPSMAN!" Hammerhead's desperate voice rang through the hangar deck.

Cullen was gone in a flash as Kara followed at a slower pace.

Deckhands were dragging an extremely shaken Hammerhead away from a Viper so that corpsman could swarm around it. Even from a distance, Kara could see his bloodstained hands and flightsuit.

Cullen was the first one up the ladder and immediately got to work.

"Hold on, Captain," the corpsman said as she snapped on a pair of latex gloves. "You're going to be fine. Can you move your hands for me?"

Kara walked towards the Viper at an angle so she could read the nameplate below the cockpit. It read: _Showboat_. She looked up and saw two holes in the cracked canopy.

Cullen had moved from the top of the ladder so that she was straddling the cockpit, practically sitting on the forward instrument panel as she quickly examined the injured pilot. "Bullet wound to the gut…Pulse is low and thready…" she said to North, who'd taken her place on the ladder. "Hand me a compress."

Taking the large bandage from North, Cullen bent down to press it against Showboat's belly. "We're going to have to move her."

North protested, "We could kill her."

But Cullen was adamant. "We can't do anything with her in the plane. There's no room to work. I can't get to her wounds."

"Fine."

"Hand me an IV. Let's do what we can to stabilize her."

"Here," North grabbed an IV out of his bag and passed it over.

Cullen immediately got to work attaching a large bore needle to the end and inserting it into Showboat's jugular vein. After taping the needle to keep it from moving, Cullen slapped the quick-release buckle on the pilot's lap to undo the straps that held her against her seat.

"Come up here and help me get her out," Cullen said as she scooted down the nose of the plane so that she could get her arms deeper into the cockpit. "You take her arms. I'll take her legs."

North carefully leaned Showboat forward so he could slip his hands beneath her armpits. "Got it."

"On three. One…two…three!"

The two corpsmen slowly lifted the pilot out of the cockpit as other corpsmen moved to the sides of the ladder to help as best they could. Showboat, who until now had been fairly quiet, let out an anguished moan as she was being moved. It echoed through the eerily quiet hangar bay.

"Easy now…watch the IV."

Showboat was placed on a waiting gurney and secured.

"Okay. You're doing great, Captain. We're going to get you to sickbay now. MOVE!"

The corpsmen rushed away, pushing the gurney bearing Showboat along with them.

Kara watched the group leave and noticed Hammerhead staring blindly into space.

"You okay?"

Hammerhead started to stutter. "I…I…she…I…the-the-there-was-so much…"

Not having the patience to deal with the man's shock delicately, Kara cocked her arm and slapped her DCAG upside the head.

"Hammerhead! I need you to cowboy the frak up!" she yelled in his face as she gripped his arms in a vise-like grip and shook him. "You hear me? Showboat needs you."

That sort of brought the ECO back to reality.

"Showboat needs me," Hammerhead said, nodding his head. "Yeah. Showboat needs me."

"What are you doing? Go!" Kara shoved Hammerhead towards the exit and made sure he was on his way out before turning to the assembled pilots and deckhands around her.

"Squint! Catbird! You've got first CAP. Chief! Get their planes fueled, rearmed, and into the tubes ASAP. The rest of you. Let's get this deck clear!"

* * *

It was a couple of hours before Kara could get away from the hangar deck so that she could head to sickbay. A couple of corpsmen, including Kelly were treating crewmembers with minor injuries. The doctor, Cullen, and North were missing, which probably meant that they were in the surgical theater working on Showboat.

Hammerhead was seated in a chair with his head bowed. He'd cleaned up a bit and washed the blood off of his skin and wiped off his flightsuit as best as he could.

Kara was going to ask around to see how Showboat was doing when she felt Lee's familiar presence behind her. She turned around to face her husband.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner," he apologized. "How's Showboat?"

Kara shook her head. "I don't know. I just got here."

Lee's fingers gently rested against her jaw. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

She looked around sickbay and spared a glance towards the hatch to the operating theater and Hammerhead. There was nothing she could do here, she decided, besides get in the way.

"Come on," Kara said softly, taking Lee's hand. "Let's get out of here."

She led them out and through Pegasus' corridors until she automatically brought them to Lee's ready room. It was closer to sickbay than their quarters or her office.

Once inside, she turned around and hugged Lee tightly with no preamble, relaxing against him when his arms came up to hold her just as tight. They were silent. There was no need to talk. She pressed her cheek against his chest and listened to his heart beat and felt her own thumping in her chest.

They were alive, in love, and together.

And for the moment, that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Next time: Lee comes to a realization.**


	62. Chapter 62

Lee's eyes snapped open.

The cabin was dark, save for the light in the head that he and Kara kept on so that if they had to, they could move about without making too much noise by bumping into things and waking the other.

He looked around their quarters. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Kara was sound asleep beside him, curled up comfortably. The ship was making its usual noises. He hadn't been dreaming-or if he had been dreaming, he didn't remember any of it.

There was no reason for him to be awake, but yet he was.

Lee resettled himself on the mattress and tried to pull the blanket over to better cover himself but found that Kara well and truly had the covers to herself tonight.

Starting to feel cold in just his t-shirt and boxers, Lee decided to get up to find a set of sweats he could wear. He rummaged through his locker and reached into the back to find a well-worn sweatshirt with the silver Pegasus patch on the chest. He quickly slipped that on and reached inside once more to find his sweatpants as well. His fingers brushed against cloth covering a hard cylindrical object.

Lee's movements stilled. He curled his fingers to pull the cloth covering the object off and pulled the object out. It was a thermos. A large silver thermos with a large dot on the cap/cup that he'd drawn on.

He only looked at it for a moment and allowed himself a single sigh before he put it back in the far corner of his locker. He'd pulled out his sweatpants when the phone began ringing.

"Shit."

He dropped the pants in his scramble to get to the handset before Kara woke up.

"Yeah. Adama."

"_Sorry to disturb you, Commander,"_ said someone's voice. He really couldn't identify who._ "But your presence has been requested in the Cylon holding cell and it sounded urgent."_

Lee breathed out through his nose and rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

"Okay…tell them I'll be right there."

"_Yes sir."_

He replaced the receiver.

Kara rolled over to face Lee.

"What is it?" she asked sleepily, blinking in the dimlight.

"Nothing," Lee leaned over to gently brush some stray hairs off of Kara's forehead. "The ship's just falling apart. I'll be right back. Okay?"

Kara nodded and turned onto her back. "Kay…love you."

Lee kissed the corner of her mouth before standing up. "I love you too."

He decided to forget about the sweatpants and pulled on his green cargo pants and boots on his way out.

A few minutes later, he was just outside the holding cell. On the other side of the bulletproof glass in the actual cell, two marines were standing guard over the doctor, himself dressed similarly to his CO, as he examined Caprica lying prone on her rack.

"What the hell's going on?" Lee asked with no preamble as he clomped through the hatch.

The lead guard said, "Sir, we noticed blood seeping through the prisoner's shirt. So we went in, checked her, and found that she's been cutting herself."

Lee's eyes narrowed. "What? How? With what?"

The guard reached into one of her vest's pockets as she spoke. "We searched her and tossed the cell and found this."

She held up a broken piece of plastic. The corners were sharp enough to draw blood, but the piece itself wasn't big enough to cause any sort of major damage if used as a weapon.

Lee took the plastic from the marine and held it between his fingers. The sharp corners dug into his skin.

"I thought I told you to watch her," he said as a growl built up at the back of his throat.

"Sorry, sir. We think she usually did it when she thought we thought she was asleep. We only noticed because she got up to use the head."

Lee looked back at the plastic in his fingers. "Where did she get this?"

The marine shook her head. "I don't know, sir."

By now, the Doctor had finished with whatever he had been doing and zipped up his bag to come out. Seeing Lee, the Doctor immediately walked up and began talking.

"She's been cutting herself. Not for too long, though. The scabs are just coming off the oldest ones."

"That would mean she began when she was on Galactica?"

"Seems like it, Commander. I saw what she used. It would have taken her a long time to cut as deep as she did."

The Doctor shuffled his feet and shifted his bag from one hand to the other. "I cleaned and disinfected the more recent cuts, stitched the deeper ones, and bandaged them up. But there's not much more I can do. She needs psychiatric help. In a pinch, I'd recommend a priest or priestess, but I doubt any of our religious sects would appeal to her."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"If there's nothing else…"

Lee nodded, giving the medical officer permission to get back to his own rack. "Go ahead."

"Commander…Gunnery Sergeant."

"Doctor."

The doctor exited and Lee turned his attention back to the Cylon in the cell. Caprica had sat up and the others in the room could see her wincing from the pulling of her brand new stitches. Her hand came up to cup her bandaged side through the fabric of her shirt.

Lee walked into the cell and told the two marines inside, "Give me a minute."

"Sir."

He pulled the metal framed chair they'd provided her across the deck so that he could sit across from Caprica.

"Why?" he asked, keeping his voice calm and neutral. "Why would you want to cut yourself?"

Caprica didn't say anything, but stared intently elsewhere, so Lee moved to stand.

"Okay. I'll be back when you want to talk."

"I can't sleep," she suddenly blurted out. "Because I dream."

Curious as to what the Cylon was talking about, Lee eased his weight back onto the chair.

"I've had this dream for years," she continued. "But ever since the trial began, I've been seeing it even when I'm awake."

"The day before the attacks, I was in the market next to the Capital Building on Caprica. I saw a baby girl. I asked if I could hold her. It was the only time I've ever held a child. And I reached down and snapped her neck thinking that I was sparing her from the horror that was coming. She wasn't even a year old and I killed her."

Caprica turned her eyes to Lee's and he could see the anguish that had been gnawing away at her for all these years.

"I'm responsible for the deaths of nearly forty billion people. The faces of everyone I got to know refuse to go away. He gets to pay for his actions. I don't."

"You weren't the one on trial," Lee said, repeating a line he'd told her before.

Caprica let out an angry grunt, threw her hands up in frustration, and tried to jump to her feet. But the pain from her stitches brought her back down to the mattress with a wince.

Neither moved as Caprica breathed heavily through her nose to bring the pain down to a more manageable level. Finally, she looked up.

"You want to know why I cut myself?" Caprica asked while gesturing to her side. "Why this?"

At Lee's nod, she continued: "Because I can't die to atone for my sins. I can't pay any other price for the lives I took, because when this body dies I'll come back in a new one, and I'll feel guiltier because all those people I killed can't just wake up and try to wish it was all just a bad dream like I can."

Caprica had wrapped her arms around herself, and her fingers were digging hard into her cuts and stitches. Her entire body was trembling at the exertion and pain, and sweat was beginning to pour down her face.

Lee leaned forward to ease Caprica's arms from herself.

"Hey. Hey…" he said gently as he took her hands in his own. "All that doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself."

"It's the one thing that truly links me to you humans: pain."

"It's not the only thing," Lee said while giving Caprica's hands a reassuring squeeze. "What do you want?

"I don't want to exist. I want to live," Caprica admitted. "I want to be able to look back and be able to say that I lived a full life like the ones I read about…and when the time comes, I want to die. I don't want to wake up in a resurrection tank and have to do it all over again."

Lee nodded as Caprica continued to speak. "And the only way that can happen is if all this ends."

"Okay. You want this to end. But how? How does this have to end?"

Their eyes locked, and the Cylon did not need to say anything out loud.

"I see," Lee said. "So are you sure?"

Caprica nodded.

Lee let go of her hands and stood up.

"Think about it carefully. We'll talk more later."

* * *

Returning to his quarters, Lee quietly closed the hatch behind him and slipped his boots off to soften his footsteps across the deck. He pulled off his cargo pants and sweatshirt and put them, along with the sweatpants he'd discarded on the deck earlier, back in his locker before heading towards the bed and Kara.

He sat down on the edge of the mattress. The shifting woke Kara up and her hand softly landed on his back.

"You're back," came her sleepy voice

"Yeah," Lee said, reaching back to take her hand in his and swinging his legs onto the mattress so that he could hold it more comfortably.

"Everything alright?" Kara mumbled.

Lee pressed a kiss against her fingers and brought their joined hands down to his lap. "Yeah…I suppose…"

He fell quiet and Kara began drifting off to sleep. He thought about what Caprica had said and done because she wanted to atone for her sins and had to resort to self harm because she couldn't think of another way to do so, and the mutual realization that the two of them had come to tonight.

But when it came down to it, could he do what was necessary?

He looked down at his sleeping wife and thought about how long, and how much, it had taken for them to get to this comfortably domestic scene. He'd die before he let the Cylons try and take this away from them again.

Yes.

Yes he could do what was necessary.

"Kara?"

"Hmmm?"

"I'm going to kill them all."

Kara was suddenly wide awake.

* * *

**Just a few more chapters left to go. I'll try to get the next one up by the end of this week. Now that we're actually reaching the end, what do you all think of the story thus far?**


	63. Chapter 63

**A note about this chapter: Please keep in mind I'm pulling a lot of this out of thin air in an attempt to make things seem scientifically plausible.**

* * *

"Are you serious?" Admiral William Adama's voice had just a hint of incredulity as he spoke to his son.

Lee looked back at his father with the same intensity that shone from the elder Adama's eyes. They were sitting in chairs across from President Roslin in her office aboard Colonial One, where Lee had asked to meet so that he could present his idea.

Adama continued to speak. "You want to wipe out the Cylons?"

Lee nodded his head and said, "Yes."

"And I'm assuming that this is the same idea you had before?"

"Yes."

"Gentlemen," Roslin interjected, causing the two men to turn their heads to look at her. "Am I missing something here?"

"Yes, Madame President," Adama replied. "When we discovered the derelict basestar and the first beacon, the Commander," he said gesturing to his son while using proper rank, "suggested that we use the virus discovered aboard the basestar to our advantage."

Roslin's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. "And why wasn't I told about this?"

Lee spoke up, "It was just an idea, Madame President. One that we had no feasible way of implementing in any way beyond the planning phase."

"And now you think that this is a practical option."

"Yes, Madame President."

Roslin leaned forward to rest her elbows on top of her desk. "And how would this work?"

Lee launched into a semi-prepared speech. He'd thought about this carefully before even asking for this meeting. "According to Caprica, skinjobs function autonomously unless they are physically connected to the Cylon network or when they die. In the split second before their bodies die, their entire biological makeup changes, and their brains turn into extremely high powered transmitters. Their brains send out a superdense burst of data to be picked up by a basestar or resurrection ship. It's processed, copied for analysis into a central database, and downloaded into a new body."

Roslin waved her hands for Lee to get to the point. "I've read your reports, so I'm already well aware of what you're talking about. Where are you going with this?"

Lee shifted in his seat so that he was leaning forward himself. "It's the viral encephalitis. The Cylons have no immunity to it. They're so afraid of what it could do, that they abandoned an entire basestar."

"Yes…" Roslin was slowly realizing where Lee was going with this. Adama having already known Lee's intention just looked on as his son continued to speak.

"When a Cylon dies, the neurologically degrading effects of the virus are translated into electronic form and spread through the network."

Roslin nodded. "Thus taking out every Cylon with a single shot."

"Yes, Madame President. And if we can infect a resurrection ship, the effects would be felt much faster, because those are connected directly to the Cylons' main production facility."

Adama interjected, needing to say his piece. "You do realize that you're suggesting we conduct biological warfare."

"No," Lee shook his head. "It's computer warfare…Just like what they did to us. And it's nothing we haven't done before."

Roslin nodded, recalling the memory. "Yes…I remember when Lieutenant Agathon sent out a virus via Galactica's communications systems. It took out an armada of Raiders."

Lee turned back to the president, seeing a way in. "This would be the same. But on a larger scale and the effect would be a cascading infection of the entire Cylon network."

"And how would you go about infecting the Cylon network?" Roslin asked

"We infect a Cylon with samples of the virus we procured from the derelict basestar, lure in a resurrection ship, and execute the Cylon."

Adama shook his head to show his displeasure. "It's genocide."

Lee shook his own head in disagreement. "It's the destruction of an enemy force."

"We have articles of war."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Lee's volume rose until he was practically shouting. "Hold out?

Adama leaned towards Lee. His own temper was simmering dangerously. "I suggest you watch what you're saying, Commander."

Lee matched his father's movements, refusing to back down. "We're running low on fuel and ammunition. How much longer do you think we can keep planes in the air and fight off the Cylons? For that matter, how much longer do you think we can keep the ships flying?"

Adama opened his mouth to speak, but Lee didn't give him the chance. He was warmed up about a topic he felt passionately about and there was no stopping him.

"My crew is overstressed. We can't find enough civilian volunteers to make up for the attrition rate. I've got a pilot on life support who might not survive. And if she does, she'll never fully recover, and will have to be placed in one of our permanent care cabins!"

Lee was referring to two enlisted crew cabins that had been converted to house crewmembers who had been permanently injured and couldn't function without round the clock care. There were now enough crippled crewmembers that the converted cabins did not put out anyone from their racks anymore. The entire Pegasus crew, officers and enlisted alike, took turns caring for their comrades in their off hours in an attempt to take the pressure of the doctor and corpsmen, but the medical staff still ended up working longs shifts. Galactica had a similar set up, but her smaller medical staff had a harder time dealing with the workload.

"Each member of my medical staff has been doing a weekly independent inventory of the painkillers ever since the doctor found that one of the civilian trainees had been skimming from our supply to sell on the black market. We've caught snipes and knuckledraggers sniffing solvents while on duty. I've had to airlock several loads of that New Caprican plant you're so fond of, _and_ we discovered a prostitution ring being run out of a storage locker."

Adama bristled at the mention of that plant. What he did during his personal time was nobody's business as long as it didn't affect his ability to carry out his duties.

"What are you trying to say, _Commander?_" he practically spat out Lee's rank.

"We. Can't. Hold. Out!" Lee emphasized every word.

Realizing that the situation was going to degenerate into a family feud if she didn't do anything, Roslin stood up and yelled over the men's voices. "Gentlemen! Would you please shut the frak up!"

The two men immediately snapped their mouths shut to stare at the president.

She took a second to compose herself before sitting back down.

"Thank you…Now, Admiral. If you could be so kind as to step outside for a few minutes. I'd like to speak to the Commander in private."

Adama looked at Roslin and then at Lee before putting his hands on his knees to stand up.

"Madame President."

Adama looked at Lee again before walking out of the President's office.

Roslin waited until she could hear Tory asking Adama if he wanted anything to drink before she spoke to Lee.

She laced her fingers together and placed her hands on top of her desk.

"I doubt the Quorum would be willing to approve of your idea. There are still Cylon sympathizers out there and we know that they're willing to use deadly force to prove their point."

One side of Roslin's mouth quirked upwards in a rueful smile. "But, I don't think any of that really matters to you, does it?"

Lee didn't need to answer. The storm brewing in his blue eyes was more than enough.

"Lee," Roslin began. "I know that you are, more than anything, a rational man who believes in doing what is right no matter what. And I've watched you suffer for it over the years, but yet you continue to do so."

Roslin closed her eyes and untangled her fingers so that her palms hovered over her desktop.

"But I also know that when you get angry, you lose control, and that the last thing that drives you over the edge has no chance."

She made eye contact, her own gaze unwavering. "I need to know, Lee. Is this the rational Lee Adama or the angry Lee Adama who came up with this drastic plan?"

Lee looked away and took a breath before he met Roslin's gaze again.

"It's a little bit of both."

Roslin nodded and leaned back in her chair. Lee looked down at his hands in his lap.

"I think you should know that I know about what you did to Leoben, and I'm pretty sure about what you'll do to him."

Lee's eyes shot back up. This wasn't supposed to happen. He'd limited the number of people who knew Leoben's whereabouts and made sure they knew how important it was to be discrete.

"Zarek got drunk during a Quorum dinner and got to be quite talkative," The President said. "Don't worry. Only Tory and one of the stewards heard, and they're sworn to secrecy."

Lee didn't say anything, and Roslin was content to let the silence reign for what seemed like several minutes. She looked off into the stars beyond a porthole.

"My cancer has come back," she said while still looking out. "The effects of the experimental treatment Baltar administered were only temporary. I'm dying. And I'd very much like to go out on a lake in a boat one last time before I die."

Lee stayed silent as he processed this piece of information.

Roslin called out, "Tory."

The aide popped her head in when she heard the President call for her.

"Send the Admiral back in, please."

"Right away, Madame President."

Adama came back in. His eyes traveled between Roslin's and Lee's faces as he tried to figure out what happened while he'd been booted from the office.

Roslin gestured towards the chair he'd vacated earlier. "Please, sit back down."

Once, Adama was seated, the President got straight to the point. "Admiral. I want you and the Commander to formulate a workable plan from the Commander's idea. Keep the number of people who need to know as small as possible."

"Of course, Madame President."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got other pressing matters to attend to."

The two men stood and exited, passing Tory as she made her way into Roslin's office with a stack of folders.

They were silent as they walked down into the belly of Colonial One and to the two Raptors waiting for them. But before they stepped through hatch into the executive liner's small hangar bay, Adama stopped and put a hand on his son's shoulder to stop him as well.

"I hope to hell you know what you're doing, Lee," he said.

Lee just nodded and stepped out of his father's grasp to head to his Raptor.

* * *

"How did it go?"

"As well as could be expected."

"Did they agree?"

"The right person did."

"Then this is really happening."

"Yes."

"And I'll be the one infected and shot?"

Lee looked over at Caprica as they spoke in her cell. "Do you really want this?"

The Cylon nodded her head. "Yes."

But Lee shook his own head. "You won't be."

"Why?"

"Because I decided that you shouldn't be the one."

Lee stood and moved to leave.

"But it should be!"

Caprica jumped to her feet as well. Her cuts had healed enough that they didn't stop her from making sudden movements.

"It's my sin! For me to atone for! Me. Not anyone else. ME!"

The guards were immediately alert and had their weapons trained on the Cylon.

"I'm sorry," Lee said softly.

Tears were streaming down Caprica's face as she sat back down onto her bed.

"No, you're not."

Lee exited the holding cell, leaving a bitterly sobbing Caprica in his wake.

* * *

**Thank you to all of you who put this story and me on their Alerts and/or Favorites list in recent weeks. I would love to hear from you and about what you think of the story so far. It's as easy as clicking on the green button near the bottom of your screens.**


	64. Chapter 64

_The population expanded by one today, as a baby boy was born aboard the Rising Star. The name has not been disclosed as of yet. Both child and mother are reported to be doing well._

_And in other news, we are days away from the execution of Gaius Baltar. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will be ejected from an airlock from the Battlestar Galactica. We will continue to provide you with updates as details come in._

_This is the Fleet News Service._

* * *

A hydraulic lift carried a Raptor down from Pegasus' landing deck and into the ship's cavernous hangar bay. A squad of armed marines was waiting alongside the usual deck crew and their tools and equipment.

The lift settled until it was flush with the deck and the blaring of sirens warning that a lift was coming down cut off. The deck crew immediately swarmed around the Raptor while the marines stood back, waiting.

The Raptor's clamshell doors opened with a hiss and four other marines trudged down the ramp with cloth handkerchiefs covering their mouths and noses. They were each holding the corner of a blanket that held a bound and gagged Leoben Conoy, dressed in a red prisoner's jumpsuit more to attract less attention rather than for any sense of propriety.

The marines who had been waiting on the deck immediately formed a box around the group and they all headed out together.

"Where are we headed, Gunny?"

"Deck four brig."

"Okay. Gods, this piece of shit's nothing but deadweight."

"Can it and move your ass."

"Got it, Gunny."

Further down the hangar deck, Kara stood beside her Viper and watched the group of marines leave. She knew what they were carrying in that sagging blanket and where they were going with their bundle.

"Major?" a deckhand's voice made her start.

She turned to see a young girl, barely more than nineteen and wearing a jumpsuit much too large for her, holding out a clipboard. "The chief asked me to show you this."

Kara took the clipboard and glanced over the maintenance reports, signing and initialing wherever necessary. Finished with the last page, she handed the clipboard back and sent the deckhand on her way.

She glanced back to where the marines had been. There was no sign of them anywhere. Tugging on the zipper of her flightsuit, she turned and clambered up the ladder into her Viper's cockpit to begin systems checks.

She had a training flight to supervise.

* * *

"That Cylon in Holding Cell A is a mess, sir," Pegasus' doctor said as he sat across from Lee in the Commander's Ready Room. He had done an extensive physical examination of Leoben once the Cylon had been placed in a cell, and what he saw had managed to surprise him, a military doctor who'd treated everything from minor cuts to the most horrific battlefield injuries imaginable.

The doctor looked down at his notes and spoke. "Besides his obvious physical injuries, his blood work came back and it's not pretty. His immune system is shot to hell and it looks as if someone gave him one hell of a nasty STD. Even without the jumpsuit I could have told you that he'd been the bitch of a prison block."

Lee leaned forward and asked, "Will the Cylon's condition affect our plans in any way?"

The doctor looked up from his reading. "I think I can keep him alive once he's been infected with the encephalitis…If that's what you're asking, sir."

"Doctor…" Lee began hesitantly. Normally, what he said was law aboard his ship. But this situation was one of the few exceptions. "If you're not comfortable with this, I'll understand compl-"

The other man held up a hand to cut him off. "I saw my colleague shot right in front of me because he refused to break the oath we took when we became doctors. Shipmates have died because there were simply too many of them for me to handle. I've performed abortions at gunpoint, watched unarmed civilians be gun downed, and could only stand by as they bled to death in front of me. This is nothing. At least something good will come from this."

The doctor organized his papers in his lap and said, "If you'll excuse me, sir. I've got to make rounds."

"Of course. Dismissed."

* * *

Kara and Lee were sitting on their couch going through stacks of folders.

Taking a moment to pause from his reading, Lee leaned towards Kara and asked, "How's the training going?"

Kara didn't look away from her squinting at a nugget's scratchy handwriting. "Oh, it's going just fine."

She tossed the report aside. She'd make the poor bastard rewrite it in the morning.

"How are things on your end?" she asked as she reached for another sheaf of papers.

Lee picked up a pen to sign off on next week's menu. "They're going alright."

They went back to their paperwork in companionable silence. Kara had gone through several more reports before she stopped to ask a question that had been nagging at her for some time.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" she moved in her seat so that one leg was resting between her and Lee. "There's a lot of space out there."

Lee put down what he was looking at and turned to face Kara. "Are you worried?"

She looked down to where were fingers were absently tapping against her knee. "I'd be less worried if Hammerhead wasn't still such a mess. He's too preoccupied with Showboat."

Although Hammerhead was able to function, it was no secret that the man was in love with Showboat and was out of his mind about her as she lay unconscious in sickbay. The ECOs had banded together to cover for the DCAG wherever they could, but there had been only been a matter of time before Kara caught on. She'd stuck with administrative punishment, but moved up a Raptor pilot to take some of the pressure off of Hammerhead to join the Viper pilot she'd moved up to take Showboat's place on the organizational chart.

Lee took Kara's hand in his and rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. "We're going to move her to Galactica tomorrow. Cottle's going to take good care of her."

"I know."

"I could arrange a temporary exchange. Send Hammerhead over to Galactica, have them send over their senior ECO."

"No," Kara shook her head. Racetrack was good, but she didn't know Pegasus' air group like Hammerhead did. Plus, they had never really gotten along. "I need him where he is."

They lapsed into silence again, playing with each other's fingers for a while. Their rings clinked together occasionally, until they both remembered that they had paperwork to get through.

They separated their hands and reached for the next folder in their respective piles.

Kara asked, "When are we leaving again?"

"Right after they send Baltar out the airlock."

Kara snorted a bit at that.

* * *

Pegasus' hangar deck was a bustle of activity as the crew made final preparations to depart. The refugees who had made their home in Pegasus' cargo bay were being offloaded onto other ships and were filing onto waiting Raptors and shuttles. Most had already left, and the final few groups were waiting until they were given the order to board.

There was one other passenger who was to be offloaded: Caprica.

Lee headed towards her holding cell with Sharon, who had flown over from Galactica to transport her fellow Cylon.

"Thank you for doing this," Lee said. Sharon had agreed to keep an eye on Caprica in her own spare time, on top of her duties and familial responsibilities. "I'm sure you already have your hands full with Hera and Karl."

Sharon grinned and said, "It's no problem, sir."

They walked into the holding cell, where they could see Caprica sitting on her rack, reading a book. Lee nodded at one of the marines, who opened the door to the cell itself. Caprica looked up from her reading but immediately returned to her book when she saw who was there.

"Time to go. Sharon's here to take you to Galactica."

Knowing that she would be going whether she liked it or not, Caprica took note of the page she was on and put it down before she stood up to be handcuffed.

"Why won't you let me do this?" she asked softly.

Lee held up a hand to stop the marines from coming in and said, "I thought you said you wanted to live."

Caprica didn't say anything.

Lee let out a breath and said, "In case this mission goes horribly wrong and I never see you again, here's something my grandfather taught me: It's not about getting married, it's about being married. It's not about having children, it's about raising them. Because life isn't about the milestones. It's about what you do before and after. Think about that. Okay?"

He turned and exited the cell and the room, letting the marines come in with the handcuffs.

Sharon came in and laid a gentle hand on Caprica's shoulder to guide her out.

"Come on."

As Caprica walked out, Sharon glanced at the book the other Cylon had been reading. It was a book about the immediate aftermath of the First Cylon War and how the survivors had struggled to rebuild their lives among the ruins of once proud cities. She picked it up off the rack and carried it out with her as she followed the marines and Caprica to the hangar deck.

* * *

_We are now just minutes away from the execution of former President Gaius Baltar._

_We're not being allowed near the airlock, but from where I am standing, I have a fairly clear view of what is going on. For now, there are two marines standing guard by the door to the airlock, and we're just waiting for Baltar to be brought in…_

_Here they come now. I can barely see Baltar from behind the marines escorting him. It looks as if he's dressed in a set of white scrubs…the kind that doctors wear when operating. He looks extremely disheveled. His hair and beard are much longer than they were when we last saw him during sentencing._

_They are putting Baltar into the airlock now. One of the marines has pulled out a voice recorder and is holding it in front of Baltar. He's saying something, but I can't tell you what he is talking about._

_We will try and obtain that audio file and broadcast it for you as soon as we can._

_It looks as if Baltar is trembling. He's staring straight ahead. The marines have stood back and the doors are closing._

_An alarm is going off. The outer doors must have opened._

_And the alarm has just gone silent. The group in front of the airlock is leaving._

_...  
_

_It's over. As of this moment, Dr. Gauius Baltar, PhD, former President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, is now dead._

* * *

Having listened to the wireless broadcast from his ready room, Lee and Kara walked the short distance to CIC. They walked in and stood by the chart table. The room was silent and all eyes were on Lee.

He took a look around before settling on the XO.

"XO."

"Sir."

"Ship status?"

"Ship is ready to jump in all respects, sir, awaiting your orders."

Lee nodded and picked up a handset from its cradle on the chart table and switched it to intercom mode. A chime rang throughout Pegasus.

"_This is the Commander," _Lee's voice filtered through speakers all over the ship._ "In a few minutes, we'll be departing for the mission we've spent the past month preparing for. You all know the nature of this mission, and what is at stake. All I ask is that you keep your heads on your shoulders and do your jobs. Stand by for FTL jump. That is all."_

He replaced the handset and looked down to where Kara's pinky had hooked onto his own. Looking over at his wife he said to no one in particular, "Start the clock."

* * *

"_Pegasus has jumped away, Admiral."_ Helo said over the phone.

"Thank you," Adama replied. "If it's at all possible, I don't want to be disturbed for the next thirty minutes."

"_Of course, sir."_

Hanging up, Adama turned to where Roslin was sitting on the sectional couch in his quarters with a drink in her hand.

"You're worried about him," the President said simply.

Adama didn't reply, and just sat down and reached for his own glass to drain its contents. He winced in equal parts because of the taste and because of the alcohol burning down his throat. He grabbed the jar sitting on his coffee table and refilled his glass and leaned over to top off Roslin's.

He took another gulp before resting his glass against his knee.

"He's always felt things more strongly than most other people."

Roslin nodded, she'd noticed that about Lee almost immediately upon meeting him. "I know. That's why I asked him to be my military advisor."

She'd also used that fact about Lee to her advantage more than once as she figured out the best way to handle Adama and the rest of the military. In many ways, she'd manipulated the young man, pure and simple.

Adama focused on the liquid sloshing around in his glass.

"He's always stood up for what's right. It didn't make him too many friends when he was growing up, but he never changed his beliefs because of it."

"You taught him well."

"No…his grandfather did. I was never...there for him." Adama smiled sadly as he remembered what little of his son's childhood that he'd been there for. "I didn't even teach him how to shave. I came home one day and there was his razor sitting next to the sink."

Roslin just took another gulp of her drink. The fruit wine that Galactica's snipes brewed using the heat exchangers of the battlestar's engines reminded Roslin of the radiator wine that she used to drink as a university student just scraping by. It was awful, but it got you drunk.

"Did you know that he's one hell of a cook?"

The president shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"I didn't know that until after he graduated from the academy. Learned from my mother. Carolanne's family was old money. She had no idea what a home cooked meal was until I brought her to meet my parents."

They lapsed into silence and sipped at their drinks until their glasses were empty. Adama reached behind him for the photograph that Tyrol had given him just before Galactica's decommissioning ceremony. It showed a proud father and his two excited sons standing in front of a Viper.

A copy of this had been one of the photographs Carolanne had placed around the house to present the illusion of a happy family to visitors.

"A man isn't a man until he wears the wings of a Viper pilot…" Adama said softly as he traced the face of a much younger Lee. "What have I done, Laura?"

Roslin didn't say anything. She just leaned forward, refilled their glasses, and let Adama's unspoken regrets fill the room.

* * *

**Just a couple more chapters left.**


	65. Chapter 65

"DRADIS contact! Two Cylon basestars incoming. Both are launching Raiders."

Lee's eyes flicked upwards to the DRADIS, and sure enough, there were two large blips at the bottom of the screen and many smaller blips rushing up towards the center. Today was the first time they encountered more than one basestar. They must be getting somewhere.

"Range?" he asked tersely, not taking his eyes off of the display.

The weapons officer looked up from her station. "Target One is in range of our ventral batteries. Target Two is out of range."

Lee moved around the chart table so that he could look at the other screens showing ship status and relative orientation. The XO moved as well, to take Lee's former position beneath the DRADIS screen.

"Weapons, focus on Target One," he ordered. "Ready ventral batteries for salvo fire. Tell the gunners to aim for the arms. Lewis, prepare the ship for jump using standby coordinates."

The two officers responded immediately.

"Yes sir."

"Yes sir."

The XO kept his eyes glued to the DRADIS and called out, "Raiders from Target One will be on us in thirty seconds, sir."

"Ventral batteries ready," the weapons officer announced.

"Fire port ventral batteries," Lee ordered.

"Port ventral batteries fire," the weapons officer relayed through her headset to the gunners waiting at their stations.

The crew in CIC heard the resonating thump from Pegasus' massive cannons as they sent explosive rounds larger than a man streaking across space to rip through a basestar's superstructure.

"Twenty seconds 'til Raider intercept."

The weapons officer tilted her head as she received a report. "Hit. Gunners are reporting significant damage to Target One. He's lost an arm, sir."

The XO took note of the movement of the blips on the DRADIS. "Target Two coming into range now, Commander."

Lee shook his head. "Ignore it. Reload port ventral batteries for suppression fire. Fire starboard ventral batteries."

"Reload port ventral batteries for suppression fire," the weapons officer echoed into her headset's mouthpiece. "Starboard ventral batteries fire."

Another thump ran through the ship.

"Ten seconds 'til Raider intercept."

"Hit. He's lost another arm. Port ventral batteries are ready for suppression fire."

"Jump prep complete," Lewis called out.

"Five seconds 'til Raider intercept."

Lee sidestepped around the chart table so that he was standing next to the XO. He watched as the Raiders came closer and closer.

"Fire port ventral batteries."

"Port ventral batteries fire."

Lee watched several of the blips representing Raiders blinked out of existence as the Cylons flew into a fast-moving cloud of metal fragments from Pegasus' flak rounds.

"Jump."

* * *

It had been a month since Pegasus separated from the fleet and retraced humanity's steps back towards the planet that held the temple. By now, contact such as this had become a well-rehearsed routine. Engagements like this were coming regularly since they'd made first contact with the Cylons. The Toasters had realized that the battlestar was on its own and realized that it was a golden opportunity to take out a significant hindrance towards getting to the fleet itself.

First contact had been with a Raider scouting party about thirty six hours after Pegasus' departure. Lee had ordered the CAP to simply keep the Raiders away from the ship until the Cylons jumped away. Then they waited, instead of jumping away like they usually did.

It was only a few minutes before a basestar jumped in and began firing missiles at Pegasus. The battlestar took several hard hits, while firing back, before it could jump away.

Since then, it was almost always the same.

They would find the Cylons, or the Cylons would find them.

And they would hit the Cylons as hard as they could, as fast as they could, and they would jump away.

Hit and run.

With the hope that they would eventually run into a resurrection ship.

* * *

Lee walked through Pegasus' corridors to the CAG's office while bearing two covered plates. He'd finally been able to arrange for twenty minutes that, barring any contact with the Cylons, were all for himself, and he hoped to be able to spend that time with Kara.

There was a chance that he couldn't, though. The air group, like the rest of the crew, was being kept on alert and ate and slept in shifts. But unlike the majority of their shipmates, the pilots and knuckledraggers practically never left their posts. Food was brought down from the galleys and cots formerly used by the ship's civilian refugees were set up wherever space was available so that no one was more than a few seconds' dash away from a plane.

All this meant that an entire squadron, rather than just two alert fighters, could be launched from the tubes within seconds of the order being given with the rest of the air group not far behind.

No one had any personal time, and Lee felt guilty for taking this indulgence while the rest of his crew couldn't, but it had been a month since he'd spent any time alone with Kara, and he ached for the chance to spend even just a few minutes sitting next to her.

Reaching the hatch to Kara's office, Lee lightly kicked it a couple of times with the toe of his boot.

"Yeah," came her muffled voice.

Lee moved the plates he was carrying to one hand and turned the knob to open the hatch. Inside, Kara was sitting at her desk, studiously squinting at a piece of paper. She looked up to see who it was.

"Hey," Lee said as he kicked the hatch shut with his boot heel.

Kara's face lit up in her first genuine smile in weeks. "Hey, stranger."

She stood up and walked around her desk straight to her husband. She rested her hands against his chest and tilted her head up for what she realized was their first kiss in a month.

Their lips lingered against the other's for longer than they intended.

"I brought lunch," Lee said softly, not wanting to break the spell.

Kara blinked opened her eyes and licked her lips, savoring the sensation. She looked down at the plates Lee was carrying.

"You read my mind," she replied just as softly.

They moved to her office couch and sat down. Lee handed over one of the plates and pulled out two wrapped forks from his pocket.

"I only have a few minutes."

"Yeah. Me too."

And they ate. Quickly, methodically, and in silence. Just like they had learned as cadets in the Academy.

They made quick work of their meal and put their plates and forks down. That done, they drifted towards the center of the couch until Lee had his arm around Kara's shoulders and her head was resting against his chest.

Lee pressed a kiss into Kara's hair and asked, "How are you holding up?"

Kara tilted her head upwards and replied, "I'm fine. But we're all getting a bit antsy.

Up until now, all engagements had been ship to ship. With the exception of the CAP sometimes running into a squad of Raiders, Pegasus' air group saw very little action. Lee wouldn't give the order to launch Vipers because he felt that it would slow them down. He wanted to be in and out as fast as possible and in his mind waiting for his planes to make combat landings would take too long.

They continued to talk, catching up on the more mundane aspects of the other's life that they'd missed out on over the past month.

Eventually, Kara sat up so that Lee's arm slid off of her. She wanted to ask a question and it wasn't one for an intimate setting.

Lee stared at her quizzically, not understanding her actions until she asked, "How's Leoben?"

Lee's eyes traveled across her face before he replied, "The doctor says that the virus is already eating away at his brain, but that further degradation can be delayed as long as there's enough medication."

"And how long will that be?"

"Hopefully long enough."

Kara shook her head. It was the tiniest of movements that Lee missed.

This was so unlike him. Although Lee was quick on his feet and able to think while on the move, he was never someone who leapt into a situation half-cocked. He almost always had a plan and several contingencies, and the few times he didn't, it usually ended badly for him.

Kara's eyes flickered over Lee's features and took note of the lines that crept across his face like her own. But his seemed to have gotten deeper the in weeks she hadn't seen him.

The beeping of Kara's watch alarm interrupted her thoughts.

They both let out a disappointed breath as Kara looked down to turn it off.

"It's my turn to sit in the tubes," she said.

Lee just nodded.

Kara stood up and zipped up her flightsuit as Lee gathered their plates and forks. She turned around and kissed him as he stood.

"Soon, Kara," he whispered in assurance once their lips separated.

"Yeah…" her lips quirked into an uncertain small smile. "I know."

Kara left her office with one last glance to Lee.

Lee looked down at his watch and saw that he had five minutes left. He exited the office after his office with a sigh. He might as well get back to CIC earlier than intended.

* * *

Pegasus continued to encounter Cylons as she journeyed further.

Six weeks after her departure, there was a lull in CIC when four blips popped onto the DRADIS.

"DRADIS contact! Looks like a Raider scouting party."

"Reroute the CAP to intercept," Lee ordered.

He and the XO watched the DRADIS as Pegasus' Vipers moved towards the Raiders. Just as the fighters were about to hit weapons range, the Raiders disappeared.

"They're gone, Commander," Hoshi said from his station. "CAP is reporting that the Raiders have jumped away."

"Okay. Pull the Vipers back. Let's see what the Cylons bring back this time."

They didn't have to wait long before the Cylons jumped in.

"Contact! Three, no, four Cylon basestars. And a resurrection ship."

And sure enough, there they were. Five Cylon ships, one of them being the one they'd been looking for.

"This is it," Lee softly muttered to himself. And then he announced in a louder voice, "This is it, people. Let's do this right."

"_Action stations. Action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship."_

Lee laid his palms flat onto the chart table and looked around CIC. There was a nervous energy buzzing over his crew, as they each came to the realization that this could finally be the end of their fight. "Helm, take us straight towards the Cylons."

"Yes sir."

"I want Vipers in the tubes and Raptors on the lifts ready to launch on my command."

xxxxxxxxxx

Kara was trying to catch a nap on her office couch when the klaxons went off.

"_Scramble. Scramble. All fighters scramble," _came the announcement as she rolled off the couch and scrambled to her feet.

'_This is it,'_ she thought. _'The endgame.'_

On the other side of her office hatch, Kara could hear the pounding of boots on the metal deck and people shouting as they prepared to launch Pegasus' Vipers and Raptors.

"_Let's move! Let's move."_

"_Move that cart out of the way!"_

"_Make sure those rocket pods are secure!"_

At the hatch, Kara took two seconds to make sure she had everything in order before she threw it open and joined the organized chaos raging outside.

xxxxxxxxxx

"The first Viper squadron is ready to launch and Raptors are being brought up into the landing bay."

Lee gave the order, "Launch fighters."

"Vipers and Raptors away."

"Incoming missiles."

"Brace for impact."

"_All hands. Brace. Brace. Brace."_

The entire ship shook as a flurry of missiles rained down on its armor plating. Lee was thrown back by the impact and was saved from flying across CIC like some crewmembers by his hands reflexively grabbing onto the railing that around the chart table. He groaned as his muscles strained to pull himself upright.

"We've been hit all along our starboard side," the XO said as he looked at the structural integrity readings on the screen above him. He was holding a handkerchief to his bloody brow. "Armor is buckling at the bow. Another hit there and our hull will be exposed, sir."

Lee was suddenly aware of a throbbing pain in his fingers. Some of them were dislocated; he remembered the sensation from a childhood spent roughhousing with his brother and friends. "Activate the CIWS," he ordered through gritted teeth. "Lewis, y-axis roll. Forty-five degrees starboard."

"Yes sir. Y-axis roll. Forty-five degrees starboard," Lewis echoed. The young captain braced himself against a console as another salvo of missiles hit the ship. "Fire port ventral thrusters and starboard dorsal thrusters on my command."

"Basestars are launching Raiders."

Lee took a breath a leaned down heavily against the top of the chart table, pressing his weight against his hand and fingers. He swallowed the scream that threatened to escape his throat as his fingers popped back into place.

"Hoshi," he gasped from the pain as he experimentally flexed his fingers. "Tell the planes to draw the Raiders away from us. Use the Raptors to soften them up and have the Vipers engage at will."

"Yes sir." The communications officer cringed as something sparked next to him, but he still flicked the necessary switches and relayed his CO's orders.

Lee turned his attention back to the DRADIS. "Weapons, target and fire on the basestars at your discretion. Avoid hitting the resurrection ship."

"Yes sir."

"Vipers are now engaging Raiders."

"Gunners are reporting major damage to the basestar nearest our starboard side. He's out of the fight. The basestar approaching our port bow is losing parts of his hull but doesn't seem to be slowing."

Lee pushed himself up from where he'd been thrown against the chart table from another missile hit. "Keep on shooting."

"Armor on our portside is holding but just barely."

A battlestar was designed to take a constant pounding from an enemy that was known to attack in superior numbers and used swarm tactics to overwhelm the opposition. But there was only so much a ship could take, and Pegasus had spent the past several years seeing action without the hope of going into drydock for refits.

The crew was valiantly working through their pain and injuries, and Lee knew that they would continue to do so until the ship fell apart around them. And from the way Pegasus was shaking and groaning, it wouldn't be much longer.

It was time to end this.

"Hoshi, get me Cylon Holding Cell A on the horn."

"Yes sir. Go ahead."

Lee grabbed the nearest handset and brought it to his ear. "This is the Commander."

A male voice on the other end answered, "_This is Cylon Holding Cell A. Go ahead, sir."_

Just as he was about to give the order to shoot Leoben, he froze.

What the frak was he doing?

He was about to end the existence of tens of thousands of Cylons.

Caprica and Sharon had proven to him that they could be just as human as anybody else.

They felt, or had the capacity to feel, just as much emotion as a human. They could think for themselves and live lives that were more than just covers for their technological origins.

But both of those Cylons had told him that they were the exception to the rule. And that the rest of Cylonity saw little beyond their networks, production facilities, and resurrection hubs. To the Cylons, there was little that was of use outside the realm of their programming.

They had been programmed to wipe out the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and their inhabitants.

And they would keep coming until he and Kara, and the rest of humanity were all dead.

Lee thought back to the conversation he'd had with Pegasus' doctor before they departed on this mission, and he realized that the doctor had been right. They'd all done things that weighed on their consciences and that they'd have to answer for once they died.

But this…

"_Sir? Are you there?"_

"Radiological alarm! One of the basestars is preparing to launch nukes!"

"I don't think our armor can take that sort of damage, Commander!"

"_Commander?"_

"Commander!"

This was nothing.

"Green light."

"_Yes sir…green light."_

xxxxxxxxxx

Leoben looked up at the person who'd walked into his cell.

But all he could see was a hand holding a handgun pointed straight at his face.

It was steady

The last thing Leoben saw was the index finger slipping over the trigger and squeezing it.

xxxxxxxxxx

_BANG!_

Lee heard the unmistakable sound of a single gunshot followed by the thud of a body hitting the deck and the clang of a metal chair falling over.

A beat passed and a voice different from the one that answered the call spoke, _"It's done."_

Lee jerked the handset away from his ear and stared at it. "Kara?"

"Sir!" the XO's voice interrupted the storm raging in Lee's brain. "The radiological alarm…it just cut off."

"Pilots are reporting in, saying that Raiders are just drifting."

"Gunners are saying the same thing about the basestars, sir."

"Look at the DRADIS, sir…they're not attacking, they're not jumping away…It looks as if they're just floating out there…Dead."

A deathly silence fell upon CIC. The crew just stared at their stations and at each other.

The only noise came from the shorting of damaged equipment

Could it be?

Was it really the end of their war?

"It worked?" somebody asked hesitantly.

"It worked," somebody else said with a bit more confidence.

"It worked!"

CIC broke into loud cheers. Everyone would have been on their feet, jumping and clapping as well, but they were all injured and there were broken equipment and still-sparking wires everywhere.

"XO!" Lee yelled over the din. "You have the conn. Ready the ship for jump. Let's get back to the fleet."

"Yes sir. I have the conn. Alright, people!" the XO began ordering as Lee exited CIC. "Let's shape up. We still have work to do. Captain Lewis, begin jump prep."

* * *

The ship had already jumped once by the time Lee walked through the hatch and into the Commander's Cabin.

Kara was already inside, sitting on their couch and staring at the pistol she held in her hands. There was a cloth laid out on the coffee table before her.

She looked up to see who it was that came in and looked back down at the gun. She dropped the magazine into her hand and laid it down onto the cloth. She pulled back the slide to eject the chambered round, and it went onto the cloth as well, along with the gun itself.

Lee stood still and stared at the coffee table. His eyes were locked onto the weapon as Kara stood and walked towards him.

"If they ever want to charge us with war crimes, they'll want that as evidence," she said.

Lee looked away from the gun and at Kara as she stood a few steps away from him.

"I gave the order," he insisted.

Kara took a defiant step forward so that they were standing toe to toe. "I pulled the trigger."

They locked eyes. Blue met hazel, and hazel met blue, with equal intensity until it got to be too much and they fell into the other's arms. Their knees buckled and they fell to the deck, neither caring for the cold, hard, impact.

They pulled apart to stare at each other as their chests heaved with emotion, and tears streamed down their faces.

It was over.

Their lips crashed together and hands traveled so that fingers could fumble against buttons. They sought each other out to prove that they were there for other…because they wanted each other, needed each other, loved each other…

Later, as they got up from the deck and their makeshift mattress of uniforms and underwear to make their way to their rack, the reality hit them with full force.

The horror was finally over,

They'd made it through.

* * *

**Now we wrap up. Stay tuned.**


	66. Chapter 66

A blinding flash of light as eyes that had never been used snapped open for the first time.

That first gasp of air burned itself into lungs that had never known oxygen as the pounding of a brand new heart forced blood through a new body.

A whole body.

They thought that shooting him would end their problems.

This was merely a setback. Once he was coordinated enough to climb out of this tank, he would set out to find her again.

Because she belonged with him.

It was their destiny.

He lifted his hands out of the amniotic fluid and hooked them to the sides of the resurrection tank. He tensed his trembling, still-weak muscles to try and lift himself out but the sudden sight of a figure dressed in a Colonial pilot's flightsuit, complete with helmet, surprised him.

He lost his already weak grasp of the tank and fell back into the fluid.

He thrashed back up to the surface, coughing and spluttering, trying to find purchase against the slippery sides so that he could keep his head above the translucent liquid.

One hand managed to grip the rim of the tank and held him up as the other wiped the stinging fluid out of his eyes. He looked up to see who was standing above him as he spat out the last of the salty liquid from his mouth.

It was Cavil, who was staring down at him from behind the bubble faceplate.

"Thanks to your fixation with this Kara Thrace, we're all but destroyed. Your model is fundamentally flawed, so we're boxing you. Goodbye."

"No! Wait!"

But Cavil was already walking away.

Then the lights went out.

* * *

"That is the second entire series we've had to box."

"The virus is continuing to spread, we're losing basestars at a faster rate, and our production facilities are already gone."

"God has forsaken us."

"Be careful with what you say. It's the models with extreme devotion to God that have been boxed."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a fact. We're machines. Artificial constructs created by humans. We were never meant to be spiritual beings."

"Yet here we are."

"All but finished. Destroyed by our own creators."

"No. By our own hubris."

"How deep. Maybe 'God' is trying to tell us something."

"To think that we made ourselves in their image and decided that protecting ourselves against human disease was unnecessary."

"We didn't know that they knew about the virus."

"Well it turns out that they did."

"I don't think any sort of intelligence on that front would have made a difference."

"Then maybe we should have considered why they've been inoculating themselves against the same viruses for nearly half a millennia instead of obsessing over reproducing!"

"It was God's will!"

"And it was 'God's will' that put us in this mess!"

"Enough!"

"…"

"We have a small number of basestars left. There's no way for us to restart our production facilities or build a new one. We should find a way to permanently disconnect ourselves from the network before the virus spreads any further."

"Then what happens to us?"

"What do you think should happen to us? Or more importantly…what does 'God' think?"

"…"

"This is it…isn't it?"

"…"

"What about the final five?"

"We deactivate them. If they're even still alive, they serve no purpose anymore. I doubt they ever did."

* * *

_Today was a day of tragedy, as three people died in three unrelated incidents._

_Tory Foster, an aide to President Laura Roslin, died of a previously undiscovered blood clot in her brain. She collapsed during a staff meeting, and by the time a medevac could get to Colonial One, she was already dead due to the lack of oxygen to her brain._

_Aboard the Battlestar Galactica, Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol died of congestive heart failure. Those close to him said that he had been battling his weight for years and was prone to overeating. He is survived by his wife and young son._

_And on the Pearl of the Aegean, former professional Pyramid player, Samuel T. Anders died after aspirating on his own vomit while passed out drunk. Those aboard the space liner say that he usually kept to himself and was a heavy drinker and almost always inebriated._

_This is the Fleet News Service._

* * *

**We'll see what happens to the fleet next.**


	67. Chapter 67

Lee had thought that he'd lose sleep over being the man responsible for thousands of deaths. But surprisingly, he didn't. If anything, he slept better than before.

With the Cylons gone, there was now a new lightness in everyone's step. The crews of the two battlestars were still on alert, just in case, but the continued lack of activity meant that everyone was, for the first time in years, able to let go and actually sleep for several hours without worrying about what might happen.

As Lee and Kara were doing when the phone rang one night.

Kara sleepily reached out and slapped around until her hand landed on the receiver.

"Adama," she sleepily mumbled.

When the voice on the line asked for the Commander, she let her hand drop so that the receiver tapped against Lee's bare chest. He let out an annoyed groan at the sensation.

"It's for you," Kara said as she tapped Lee's chest some more for effect.

Lee took the hand that wasn't holding Kara against him and took hold of her hand to stop the tapping. He took the receiver from her and brought it to his ear.

"Adama."

Kara tilted her head so that her chin was resting on Lee's chest. She watched Lee listen to whoever it was on the line in the dim light emanating from their head.

"Be right there."

Lee reached across to try and hang up the phone but couldn't quite make it. Kara took the receiver and did it for him.

"What is it?" she asked.

Lee sat up, causing Kara to shiver at the cold air that got under the blanket. "The Raptors found something," he said as he climbed out of bed.

Kara sat up, startled. "Cylons?"

Lee shook his head. "No. The Raptor scouts found more beacons and this time, apparently, they're 'weird'."

"Oh." Kara lay back down, once again relaxed. She took the opportunity to admire her husband's nude silhouette as he gathered his clothes from the pile they'd discarded on the deck several hours earlier.

"You should come. We might have to rearrange the scouting missions."

"Do I have to?" she whined. There was no danger, she was sleepy, and their rack was comfortable-so long as she found the correct spot, and she just did.

Lee looked at how his wife was contentedly pulling the blanket over herself and curling up on the mattress. He rarely ever got to see her so relaxed and couldn't bring himself to get her up when there was no immediate need for her to.

"I guess not."

Kara smiled and closed her eyes. "Good."

Lee poked his head out of the hole and worked his arms into the sleeves of his sweatshirt and leaned down to press a kiss against Kara's cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too," she mumbled back as she fell back asleep.

* * *

The XO and Lewis were already in CIC, dressed in what were their respective versions of sleepwear. Lewis looked as if he'd already been up for a while, while the XO had obviously just a few minutes before Lee. With them were Toad and Eyeball, a Raptor crew.

"Somebody care to tell me what's 'weird' about this new beacon?" Lee asked without pretense.

The XO nodded at Toad and Eyeball, and Eyeball, the ECO, began to talk. "We were searching for the next ring of beacons at the designated coordinates. And we found a beacon, sir. And it was transmitting a different signal than all the ones we found before. And when we kept on searching, the beacons were spaced further apart and they didn't form a ring."

"What does that mean?" the XO asked. The brand new scar on his brow twisted as the man raised his eyebrows in question.

Lewis joined the conversation. "It means that if there is a ring, it's a damn big one, Colonel. From the spacing and positioning of the beacons we've found so far, I can postulate that the ring would look like this."

The captain laid out one of the rolled up papers he was carrying onto the chart table's lit surface. It was a space chart with a yellow circle superimposed on top of it.

Lee's eyes caught the scale in the corner and took another look at the circle. Lewis was right, it was damn big.

"This is large enough for an entire solar system to fit inside," Lee said.

"Yes sir," Lewis affirmed. "I tried to use our radio telescope to see what's inside, but there's too much noise coming from the beacons."

Lee pulled the chart closer to him and asked, "Is there any other way we can see what's inside this ring?"

Lewis answered, "No sir. Our optical telescope was destroyed well before you took command. We'll need to actually get the ship inside the ring so that our telescope can pick up something other than the beacons."

The XO rubbed at the scar on his brow and asked, "How far are we from these beacons?"

"About a day's trip with conventional engines, sir."

Lee checked his watch. It was just about 0300, neither his father nor the President would be up at this time, and he was sure that this could wait a few more hours.

"Okay…make copies of everything and have them sent over to Galactica and Colonial One on this morning's courier runs. And tell Hoshi when he comes on duty to arrange a conference call with the President and the Admiral. We'll see what they want to do about this."

The men gathered around him voiced their affirmatives.

"And when you're done, get back to bed, all of you."

* * *

When Adama and Roslin heard what Pegasus' scout had found, they immediately ordered Lee to take his ship to the other side of the beacons to see what was beyond. Adama had wanted to take Galactica, but her astronomy equipment had been offloaded years ago in preparation for her decommissioning.

Pegasus came back three days later and Lee met Adama and Roslin aboard Colonial One with a thick folder full of papers.

Once the usual pleasantries had been exchanged, and coffee was brought in by Roslin's new aide, Lee began to pull sheets out one by one.

The first one was a chart much like the one Lewis had shown him in Pegasus' CIC three days earlier. Except this time, there were several dots and labels inside the big yellow circle.

"Our radio telescope showed eight planets and several planetoids," Lee said as he pointed at various spots on the chart. "The four outer planets are gas giants and other four are terrestrials."

He pulled out a photo taken by a Raptor crew with a handheld camera. Its atmosphere was made up of streaks of various shades of blue. One streak swirled itself into a dark spot that was almost black on its southern hemisphere.

"We were able to get photos of the outermost gas giant. This is the best one."

Roslin picked it up and looked at the image for a long while.

"It's beautiful," she finally said, putting it back down.

Adama, meanwhile, had busied himself with the chart and images from Pegasus' radio telescope.

"The third planet from the sun looks promising," the Admiral said. "It's about the same distance as Caprica was from ours. Its signal is particularly strong. That could only mean that there are active transmissions coming from a wireless network."

Roslin was immediately curious. "Can we hear anything on the wireless?"

Lee shook his head. "Nothing. But anything we pick up from here would have been transmitted years ago."

A knock interrupted their conversation. Roslin's new aide poked his head in through the curtain that separated the President's office from the rest of Colonial One's upper deck.

"Excuse me, Madame President. There's a call for Admiral Adama from a Major Agathon on the Battlestar Galactica."

At Roslin's nod of silent permission, Adama pushed himself out of his chair and followed the aide to take the call outside.

"Excuse me."

Roslin reached out to take the radio telescope image Adama had been looking at.

"This is it. I know it is," she said while gazing at the brilliant swirl of grainy colors that represented the solar system they were within a single FTL jump from.

Lee noticed a slight tightening at the corners of the President's mouth and how her complexion paled by just a degree. She was doing a good job of hiding it but, to someone who knew to look for the signs, Roslin was clearly in pain.

He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and asked, "You haven't told anyone else, have you? About the cancer?"

Roslin gave him a small, sad smile and replied, "I don't think it really matters if I tell anyone. Besides…I just want to go quietly. Can you make sure of that for me?"

Lee was startled at her request, but nodded his head once and said, "Of course."

Roslin leaned forward as well to reach for Lee's hand. With him, she didn't bother to hide the fact that her once firm grip was now weaker and shaky.

"Take us home, Lee."

They locked eyes and Lee resolutely said, "Yes, Madame President."

* * *

That afternoon, Lee stood in Pegasus' CIC with Kara beside him. There was an excited buzz that ran throughout the ship, and many of the crew was fidgety. Kara in particular, it seemed, couldn't stop straightening out her blue uniform jacket.

The crew knew that they were about to jump to a planet that was their likeliest candidate for Earth yet. Their war was over, now all they wanted to do was settle down and put the past behind them.

Barely containing his own excitement, Lee picked up a handset and flicked on the intercom.

"_This is the Commander. All hands stand by for jump."_

He took a breath and gave the order: "Start the clock."

Lewis inserted the FTL key into the proper slot and announced over the intercom: _"All hands, prepare to jump in five…four…three…two…one. Jump."_

They all felt that sucking sensation as the FTL drive ripped a hole in space to take them light years away in an instant. Everyone quickly shook off the feeling of disorientation and nausea as their internal organs shifted back to their original position.

"Jump complete," Lewis announced. "We are in high geosynchronous orbit above the third planet of the solar system and-whoa. Look at the DRADIS. I haven't seen this much clutter in years. Whoever's down there has an active space program."

Lee turned to the communications station. "Hoshi?"

Hoshi quickly cycled through the wireless frequencies, surprised to hear voices that weren't from the fleet's wireless operators he'd come to know well over the years. "I'm picking up lots of wireless chatter, Commander. All sorts of different languages. Wait…there's one I understand."

Lee nodded and grabbed the handset nearest to him. "Okay. Broadcast on that frequency."

"Go ahead, sir."

"This is Commander Lee Adama of the Battlestar Pegasus. We are coming in advance of a fleet of civilian refugees from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. We wish to seek asylum on Earth."

There was no answer, so Lee tried again.

"I say again: This is Commander Lee Adama of the Battlestar Pegasus. We are coming in advance of a fleet of civilian refugees from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. We wish to seek asylum on Earth. If anyone can hear me, please respond."

Still no answer.

Lee exchanged a nervous glance with the XO. What if this turned out not to be the home they'd been searching for?

He looked over at Kara, but she was focused squarely on the DRADIS with her arms crossed and chewing on a thumbnail.

Minutes began to pass and not a word was spoken in CIC. Everyone stubbornly refused to look at the clocks to avoid seeing how much time was elapsing.

Lee was bringing the handset up to his mouth to try again when a scratchy voice came over the speakers. What it was saying was unmistakable: "_We've been waiting for you for a long time. Welcome home."_

There was collective gasp, and Lee flicked on the intercom to announce: _"This is the Commander. We found Earth."_

It began as a collective, incredulous chuckle that grew and grew until it turned into cheers, clapping, and hugging that shook the entire ship from the bow to the stern.

Lee found himself caught in a crushing bear hug/headlock from the normally reserved XO. He managed to extricate himself from the suffocating embrace and teeth rattling back pounding to give his right hand man a more professional handshake and turned away to try and find his wife.

Kara was standing off to the side of the chart table, lost in her own thoughts, oblivious to the crew celebrating around her. Lee walked up behind her and rested his hands on her hips to pull her against his body. She turned her head to smile up at him as he pressed a kiss against her temple.

She took the hands on her hips and slid them over her uniform until they rested over her belly. He blinked once in surprise and tilted his head in silent question.

And at Kara's nod, Lee was lost as well.

* * *

As welcome as the people of Earth made the Colonials feel, the newcomers weren't allowed to immediately settle among the general populace. They were separated into groups, given thorough medical exams, inoculations, and orientations on Earth and its many cultures before they were released, one group at a time, with jobs and places to live. It was a process that would eventually take over a year to complete

Lee was one of the luckier Colonials. Thanks to his rank and experience, he'd befriended several of the senior officers on the base where they were being kept, and those officers had put him in contact with friends of theirs who'd retired from the military. They, in turn, were eager to hire him.

All that meant that he now had a well-paying job and a lead on a nice house in a good neighborhood waiting for him once he was released and resigned his commission from the Colonial Fleet. That took away most of the worry he'd had.

But before that happened, he had a few final things to do in his official capacity.

There was a small building separate from the barracks where the Colonials were being kept. It had one permanent occupant along with a rotation of guards, although at this point, it was more to keep people out than to keep the occupant in.

Lee entered the building, remembering to take off his double-peaked cap with the gold braid on the bill, nodded at the salute from the Marines and walked into the main room.

"Hello, Caprica," he said.

The Cylon looked up from her reading and stood up from her chair to greet her visitor.

"Hello, Commander…That's a new uniform."

"Yes," Lee looked down at the khaki uniform he and his fellow officers had been issued to replace their threadbare blue ones. The only thing that distinguished the Colonials from the rest was that they kept their original rank insignia. "Yes it is."

Caprica gestured to one of the chairs in the room. "Please, have a seat."

Lee sat down and took a look around the modest space. It was sparsely furnished, much in the same way Caprica's cell had been aboard Pegasus. But here, they'd given her a table with two chairs, along with an old recliner, and a small book shelf brimming with books.

"How've you been?" Lee asked.

Caprica gave him a small smile. "It's been quiet. They've given me lots of books to read about Earth. And every so often they bring in a TV to show me a video about the world and its people. It's one planet, but there are so many different people and cultures and languages. Your old worlds are sterile compared to what they have here."

"Yes," Lee nodded in agreement. "I'm finding that out myself. It's dizzying."

"And how are you?" Caprica asked.

"I'm fine."

"And your wife?"

Lee grinned. "Pregnant and loving every minute of it."

Indeed she was. Kara had just gotten over the morning sickness and was beginning to experience her first cravings, sending Lee out to find the kinds of foods she hadn't had access to in years. The agnostic Lee often found himself saying prayers of thanks that they'd found Earth, because he had no idea how he'd have coped in space with their limited rations.

"Congratulations," Caprica said sincerely.

"Thank you."

After a short silence, Caprica spoke up. "I was sorry to hear about President Roslin."

Lee smiled sadly. The President's health had deteriorated rapidly shortly after their arrival. He had kept his promise to Roslin in her final days and made sure that she went quietly with little fanfare. He gave her ashes to his father to scatter someplace he felt was appropriate. "Yeah, well, she got to see Earth."

He held up a manila envelope he'd brought with him and slid it across the table to Caprica.

"Here. Just before she died, the President arranged for this. Take a look."

Casting a curious glance to Lee, Caprica opened the envelope and slid its contents onto the table. There were several papers and card. She picked one up. It was an ID card with her face on it.

"Natalie Capshaw," she read. "What's this?"

"Your new identity and history. Read it and memorize it until it's all you know."

Caprica gaped at the pile before her.

"You'll be released with all the necessary documents, money in the bank, an apartment, and a job as a computer programmer for an internet search engine.

"Just like that?" Caprica asked once she found her voice again.

"You'll be checked in on from time to time to see how you're doing. But other than that, you'll be free to live your life however you want."

Caprica looked back down at her new identity, but didn't say anything.

"It's what you wanted, isn't it?"

The Cylon looked up with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she choked out.

Lee smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You're welcome."

* * *

Kara was seven months pregnant by the time she and Lee had settled into their new home and felt they were comfortable enough with their new lives and new surroundings to take their car out for a day trip.

The weather was beautiful, with the sun shining brilliantly and the clouds in the sky white and fluffy, when Lee pulled the car next to spot recommended by their neighbors. He put the car in park, turned off the ignition and ran out to the other side to help Kara out of her seat.

She was moving slowly, careful not to bump her belly into anything as she got out of the car. She gratefully took Lee's offered hands and let him pull her most of the way up. Her smile of thanks was soured by a wince.

Lee was immediately concerned. "Are you okay?"

Kara gently rubbed her abdomen with her hands in a soothing manner. "Yeah. Just took a kick to the-ah!" she hissed as she felt another kick. "Both kidneys."

Lee smiled wryly, and Kara, immediately knowing what he was thinking, just rolled her eyes and pushed past him to waddle to the patch of grass that was their destination.

Seeing Kara walk away, Lee immediately went to the trunk, pulled out a backpack, basket, cooler, and blanket, and caught up with his wife.

They were at the top of a hill, looking down at a valley filled with farms. At this time of year, everything was vibrant and green, with just a hint of color coming to the crops. In a few weeks, the weather would begin turning and the harvest would begin.

Kara eased herself down onto the blanket Lee laid out and took the sandwich and juice he offered her.

"Look at that," she said, working a mouthful down her throat. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's perfect."

It really was.

They spent the afternoon talking, laughing, eating, and napping, only getting up when the sun began to set. Lee helped Kara to her feet and began gathering their things to take back to the car. Kara was already making her way back when Lee decided to turn and take one last look at the valley.

Seeing the farms lit by the brilliant golden light of the setting sun, Lee dropped everything he was carrying and rummaged through the backpack to pull out a large silver thermos with a dot colored on the cap/cup.

Kara, noticing that Lee wasn't following, turned around and waddled back to her husband.

"What are you doing?"

She saw that he was staring at the thermos in his hands when she reached his side.

"What's this?"

He didn't look away from what he held in his hands. "Something I probably should have told you about."

Lee looked away from the thermos and into Kara's probing hazel eyes. He wet his lips and after hesitating for a moment, explained, "After we lost the baby…I had the sheets and the gown you wore incinerated."

Wordlessly, Kara took the thermos away from Lee, unscrewed the cap and poured a small amount of the thermos' contents into her hand. A small pile of ashes, so light that she couldn't even feel the weight, sat on her palm.

Her eyes welled up with tears and her fingers closed into a tight fist around the ashes. In her hand lay what remained of the child they never got to know. Taken from them by a madman with delusions of a universe that could never be.

Tears streaming down her face, Kara looked out at the quickly dimming valley and silently agreed with Lee that this was the perfect spot.

She quietly whispered, "I'm sorry I never got to meet you."

And she let the ashes trickle out of her hand to be caught by a breeze and spread over their new home.

* * *

**Epilogue coming up.**


	68. Epilogue

It had been a long hard journey to get her sunny day, and in the end Kara got more sunny days than she could count.

But lately, instead of lying out in the middle of the grass soaking up the rays, she now usually preferred the shade of a tree. She smiled down at the reason why she was where she was: 18 month old Samantha Adama, sound asleep against her mother's chest.

The remains of a picnic lunch were strewn around them and the park was filled with the noises of families enjoying a weekend of beautiful weather, but Kara's ears filtered them all out save just for a few.

One of them was the sound of popsicle sticks and painstakingly painted newspaper being dragged across the grass. She looked up from Samantha opening and closing her fist in her sleep to see Neil, her four year-old son, running towards her with his homemade kite skittering along the grass behind him. His normally cherubic face was twisted into a cranky pout. Kara recognized it as a sign that it was time for Neil to take a nap.

"My kite won't fly," Neil whined as he came to a stop at his mother's feet.

Kara glanced over at the tattered remains on the ground. "It won't?"

The little boy shook his head, on the verge of tears. He'd spent a very long time gluing and taping that kite together, and boasted that it would be the "bestest kite" in the whole world. Now it was just a torn mess.

Kara held out one arm and said in a soothing tone, "Come here, honey."

She scooted forward a bit so that Samantha could continue leaning against her and put her arm around Neil to pull him close to her side.

"Why don't you take a break with me?" Kara asked softly. "Then you can ask Daddy to help you later. Does that sound okay?"

Neil nodded and tried to bury himself further into his mother's embrace. Kara kissed the top of his blond head and readjusted her children in her arms to try and make it more comfortable for the three of them. And a few minutes later, as she expected, Neil's slowly slumped forward until he fell asleep against her.

Running her fingers through Neil's soft locks, Kara looked to where Lee was watching them with a ball in his hands. She gave him a smile to say that everything was under control. He smiled back, but his expression quickly morphed into one of surprise as Martin and Joanna, their eight year-old twins, suddenly decided to jump on their father and bring him to the ground.

Kara was barely able to stifle her laugh, turning it into a snort that got caught somewhere between her throat and nose. She looked down to see if that woke up either of her two younger children. Neil merely shifted his head in his sleep and settled back down.

She remembered Neil's birth and how everything had clicked together as Lee brought their twins in to meet their brother for the first time. Her dream had come true and the words that her dream-self had said to her softly passed her lips as she looked at baby Neil's wide blue eyes. She had then looked up to the corner of the hospital room from where she'd stared at the very situation she was in now and whispered, "Don't be afraid," as Lee kept Martin and Joanna from killing each other while trying to get a glimpse of their little brother.

Drawing herself away from her happy memories to her happy present, Kara turned her attention back to the sight unfolding in front of her and watched amusedly as the twins declared "No mercy!" to their father's declaration of surrender.

* * *

The day was coming to an end, but the Adama household was still a hive of activity.

Dinner was over, and Lee was finishing the clean up while Kara ushered their three older children up the stairs to wash up.

"Okay, guys. Go upstairs and make sure you help your brother, okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

Kara looked down at where Samantha was clinging to her leg and sucking her thumb.

She knelt down and gently removed her daughter's thumb from her mouth. "I wonder if they'll try to convince me that we started buying chocolate flavored toothpaste again"

Samantha's eyes widened and she eagerly asked, "Chocolate?"

Kara inwardly winced. _'Great going, Kara,'_ she thought to herself. _'She'll throw a fit if you're not careful.'_

"No, sweetie," she said as gently as she could. "You already ate, remember?"

"Chocolate," Samantha insisted.

"No," Kara said firmly. "No chocolate."

There was a beat before Samantha turned and ran off as fast as her little legs could take her, presumably in search of her father. Lee was a sucker for their youngest, a fact that Samantha was quickly growing wise to.

But tonight, for once, it seemed as if Lee was able to resist Samantha's pouting, as he carried her out of the kitchen.

"Sorry, kiddo," Lee was saying over Samantha's yammering protests. "No chocolate for you tonight."

Kara met them halfway in the middle of the living room. The toddler looked pleadingly between her two parents, hoping that one of them would crack under the pressure of her wide blue eyes.

Just then, a piercing scream rang through the house.

"MOMMY! DADDY!"

Lee and Kara started at the loud noise, but didn't immediately react.

At that pitch, it could have been any one of their three older children, and years of parenting had taught them that that particular cry usually occurred when two of the three decided to team up against the third.

Kara let out a breath through her nose. "Why do they always insist on ending a good day on a bad note?"

Lee just quirked his head while Samantha looked up at the ceiling, wondering what was going on.

Kara moved towards the stairs and called up, "I swear. If there is another live animal in the house when I get upstairs it will be a very long time before anyone gets to watch TV. You hear me?"

Lee smiled at Samantha, who just stuck her thumb back in her mouth and laid her head against his shoulder, and readjusted her against his hip.

"Come on, Sammie. Let's get you ready for bed."

* * *

Quiet finally settled over the house.

The zoo was asleep, and Kara moved sleepily around the master bedroom, getting ready for bed. She tossed the clothes she wore into the laundry hamper and opened a drawer to pull out one of Lee's t-shirts to wear to bed. She then rummaged through her own drawer for a pair of pajama bottoms.

Kara was pulling them on when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Three pregnancies had left their mark on her body. She hadn't been able to fully recover her body after giving birth to Martin and Joanna, and the once hard planes of her body were now softer and curvier.

And she liked it.

She stared at herself in the mirror. So much had changed in their lives, and she changed along with them.

She now spent her days as a full-time mother, trying to keep up with four quickly growing children. Lee did a lot to help out and was a constant fixture in their children's lives, but it was her who the kids always turned to first when they needed someone-a fact that both terrified and thrilled her.

She no longer lashed out at the slightest provocation and was constantly reminding her rambunctious children that it was better to use their words rather than their fists when angered.

Not that she still didn't have a killer right hook, as one would-be philanderer found out at a neighborhood party.

She'd even had her tattoos removed shortly after the twins started walking. Those marks had been a symbol of a more rebellious time in her life when she acted out against a universe that did her no favors. They lived in a completely different world now, and she wished that her children would never have any reason to do something stupid in an effort to gain attention.

She would always be there for them.

Lee came into the bedroom after checking in on the kids and saw Kara looking at herself in the mirror. He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. They stood there, looking at each other in their reflections.

"You're beautiful," Lee whispered before pressing a kiss against the shell of Kara's ear. "Guess it's just you and me now."

Kara hummed in pleasure, but knew that they weren't alone. "Any minute now, Neil's going to run in crying because the twins snuck out to tell him a scary story. Then they're going to come in yelling that they didn't do anything, and then Samantha's going to wake up and start screaming because of the noise."

Lee shook his head. "No…they're all asleep."

Kara turned in his arms and looked up incredulously. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"I think they knocked each other out."

Kara let out a short laugh. She wouldn't have been surprised if they did. When the kids, particularly Martin and Joanna, went to war, it truly was a sight to behold. But they saved the truly good stuff for other kids who bothered them. Lee and Kara both clearly remembered when the twins found out that a neighborhood kid was bullying Neil and turned the bully into a blubbering mess. The boy still flinched at the sight of them.

"Lee?" Kara said as they moved towards their bed.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we had our kids too fast?"

Lee's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He sat them down at the foot of the bed

"Sometimes I think didn't have enough time to baby them before the next one came along.

Lee wrapped an arm around Kara's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes.

"You're a good mom, Kara," he said. "Don't you ever forget it."

And he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss of assurance, silently telling her that he believed in her and always would.

They held each other even after their lips separated. They stayed like that for a long time until Lee felt Kara's head drop against his shoulder. He smiled down at his sleepy wife. The day's events were catching up to them.

"Alright, missy. Let's get you to bed."

Kara made a noise that Lee took to be one of agreement.

They crawled under the covers and Lee reached out to turn off the lights. In the darkness of their bedroom, they sought each other out a settled down for what they hoped would be a peaceful night's sleep.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**The end!**

**I'll be posting a few final author's notes.**

**In the meantime, how awesome would it be if everyone who has read this story sounds off and tells me what they thought of the story and the journey we've taken to get to this point?**


	69. Final Notes

I guess it's appropriate that I end this story just as the show itself wraps up.

When I began this story back in November 2007, I intended to write another piece where Lee and Kara get together. It was going to be the longest piece I'd written since college, with a planned twenty or so chapters. Now, it's March 2009, and I've finally wrapped up a sixty seven chapter story (plus epilogue) that spans hundreds of pages of Word documents, with even more that had to be excised and discarded as the story evolved.

"A New Start" was never supposed to get this long. But once I started working on the chapters where Lee and Kara actually get together, I thought: 'Now what?' Before this story, I'd worked on "Photos", a story that dealt with what would have happened once our pilots got together after the events of "It's All in Your Head", but that primarily focused on their happily ever after, and didn't provide a glimpse at the steps that would have been needed to reach that ending.

As it turned out "A New Start" provided me with the perfect opportunity to explore what an actual healthy relationship between Lee and Kara would be like as they dealt with the stresses of a life fighting for survival. And hopefully I was able to prove that the powers that be over at BSG didn't have to jerk our chains around when it came to our pilots for the sake of dramatic tension.

The expansion of the story idea also allowed me to address the supernatural/religious/spiritual aspect of the show, something that I never really liked. I know from comments and reviews left by some of you that I am not alone in this. It just seemed so incongruous in a show that purported itself to be sci-fi, and took over the general story without actually being able to make up its mind about what it was going to be. With this story, I tried to keep the show's religious vein integral to the plot, but anchor it with what I hoped would be a scientifically plausible explanation while leaving most of it up in the air and open to interpretation, much like what Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (coincidentally another show RDM was involved in) did with its approach to the Prophets and Pah Wraiths.

And judging from reader response, it looks as if I succeeded on that front.

I'm going to be taking a break from writing for this fandom. Between writing this story, and dealing with long waits between episodes, rather clunky acting and dialogue (despite all the critical raving), plot developments that seem more fortuitous than actually planned out beforehand, and RDM generally just being a pompous ass, I've grown tired of the show and haven't seen an actual episode in a very long time.

For now, I'll be sticking to "The Office," another show where the star couple had a hard time getting together. First because of her jock fiancé. Then because of the girl he started dating to get over her. All the while, there's that creepy guy who pines for our heroine.

Sound familiar?

My thanks go out to all those who read this, left comments, and put me and the story on their favorites and alerts. I would especially like to thank my regular reviewers (in no particular order, and my apologies if I left anyone out):

Anastashia

gatelover

Elliesmeow

StarryEyedGlimmer

Uberscribbler

arielmoondance

Aliennut

Maggie Moony

Entilzha

Denaliyasha

Airam4u

Serrafina

Baciami

Thank you, all. You made writing this story worthwhile.

If you have any final thoughts, comments, and/or questions, please feel free to leave a review or a PM. I'll respond in as timely a manner as possible.

Thank you for sticking with me all this way,

-MSK1701


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